Israeli president and Jordanian king hold secret talks

Isaac Herzog has revealed he met King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman, an unannounced meeting held against the backdrop of improving diplomatic ties between the two sides.

“Last week I met and had a very long conversation with the king of Jordan, I was in his palace, an entire evening. It was an excellent meeting,” Herzog said in clips from an interview broadcast on Saturday on Israeli television.

“Jordan is a very important country. I have immense respect for King Abdullah, a great leader and a highly significant regional actor,” Herzog said in a statement issued by his office.

The meeting took place at King Abdullah’s palace, with the two sides discussing a series of political and economic issues including energy and sustainability, according to the statement.

Israel-Jordan relations deteriorated under the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu, whom critics accused of neglecting the Hashemite kingdom in favour of agreeing to normalise ties last year with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

Diplomatic relations have also been strained over tensions at Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, and Israel’s expansion of illegal Zionist settlements in the occupied West Bank.