US President Joe Biden and Jordanian King Abdullah discussed efforts to stem violence in Israel and the West Bank on Monday, the White House said, after a flurry of American diplomatic contacts with regional leaders in recent days.
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"The president welcomed recent steps to reduce tensions and expressed his hope that the final week of Ramadan will pass peacefully," the White House said in a statement.
According to Jordan's state news agency, the call, which followed the recent riots on the Temple Mount, saw both leaders pledge to maintain efforts to foster peace in the region.
The two also discussed Washington's strategic partnership with Amman.
"King Abdullah stressed the need to step up efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace for the Palestinian people based on the two-state solution, and the formation of a Palestinian state in accordance to the 1967 lines, with east Jerusalem as its capital," the report said.
Abdullah stressed the importance of respecting the status quo on the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and noted that his country will continue to take necessary action to protect Jerusalem's holy sites within the framework of the kingdom's guardianship.
As part of its peace treaty with Israel, Jordan is afforded control of the Islamic Waqf – an Islamic religious trust best known for controlling and managing the Islamic edifices on and around the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
The Palestinian have slammed Israel for stirring tensions in the volatile site. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett last week said he viewed such associations "with utmost severity" and lashed out against "those who are encouraging rock-throwing and the use of violence against Israeli civilians and security forces."
Israel, he said, "will continue to ensure, provide for and safeguard the right of everyone to celebrate in Jerusalem," he said ahead of the Passover holiday.
In a phone call with Biden last week, Bennett briefed Biden on Israel's efforts "to curb violence and incitement in Jerusalem," the Prime Minister's Office said.
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