JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Jordan’s King Abdullah hosted Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid for talks on Thursday about coordinating ways of securing calm in Jerusalem, a frequent flashpoint of Palestinian protests, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said.
The visit came “ahead of the (Muslim fast month) of Ramadan and in light of reports of growing tension in Jerusalem”, the ministry said in a statement.
Israeli police confrontations with Palestinians during Ramadan last year helped stoke a May war in Gaza. Ramadan next month coincides with Judaism’s Passover festival and Christian Easter. Jerusalem is holy to all three faiths. Jordan is the custodian of al Aqsa, a major mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The Foreign Ministry quoted Lapid as saying that he and Abdullah “agreed that we must work together to calm tension and promote understandings”.
(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
