JERUSALEM – King Abdullah II of Jordan arrived in Ramallah on Thursday, in the first visit by an Arab leader since Palestine’s admission to the United Nations as a state.
President Mahmud Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, welcomed the king along with PLO and Fatah members as well as ministers and members of clergy.
Jordan’s premier Abdullah al-Nusoor was to accompany King Abdullah along with foreign minister Nasser Judah and other officials.
PA foreign minister Riyad al-Malki described the visit as ‘historic’.
At a news conference with Jordanian foreign minister Nasser Judah, al-Malki stressed the strong relations between Palestine and Jordan, saying they are matched on many issues.
Al-Malki said the Ramallah municipality would name one of the main streets after Abdullah in honour of his visit as the first foreign leader since the UN upgrade.
Judah stressed that the king of Jordan was always ready to host Abbas in Amman.
He said Jordan rejected Israeli settlement plans, adding the kingdom’s condemnation to the international uproar raised over Israel’s latest plans to expand in a sensitive area of the occupied West Bank.
Both officials said negotiations with Israel could begin, now that the UN bid was accepted.
Meanwhile, the Human rights group Al Dameer on Wednesday called on the Palestinian Authority to seek an investigation into Israel’s siege of Gaza at the International Criminal Court.
Al Dameer specifically urged an investigation into Eitan Dangot, Israel’s coordinator in the Palestinian territory, whom it held responsible for imposing the siege on Gaza.
Dangot was appointed Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories in 2009.
Israel’s siege, imposed since 2006, is a form of systematic collective punishment on a civilian population, illegal under international law, Al Dameer said in a statement.
Hundreds of residents of Gaza have died because Israel delayed or refused them permits to access specialist Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem and medical treatment abroad.
The prolonged siege has worsened the construction sector and increased unemployment, as well as creating psychological problems, Al Dameer said.
‘Also the systematic attacks and offensive on Gaza had their destructive impacts on all levels,’ the group added.
After winning a UN status upgrade in November, Palestine can now access the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which prosecutes people for genocide, war crimes and other major human rights violations.
The Palestinians have said they will not rush to sign up to the International Criminal Court, but have warned that seeking action against Israel in the court would remain an option if Israel continued to build illegal settlements.
Prior to the UN vote, some Western nations unsuccessfully pushed for a Palestinian pledge not to pursue Israel in the ICC.
• Prisoner rights group Addameer on Wednesday called for the immediate release of five Palestinians on hunger strike in Israeli jails.
Addameer’s lawyer Fares Zayyad visited Ayman Sharawna, on his 158th day of hunger strike, and Samer al-Issawi, on partial hunger strike for 127 days, in Ramle prison clinic on Monday.
Sharawna, 36, was released in October 2011 in a prisoner swap deal. He refuses to end his strike without written confirmation that he will be freed, despite daily pressure by Israeli intelligence officers, Zayyad said.
Al-Issawi, who was also previously released in a prisoner exchange, says he will not end his strike unless he is released or dies.
He has been hospitalised several times after severe decreases in his pulse, but was only admitted to intensive care when his heart beat fell to 36 beats per minute.
Al-Issawi initially refused treatment but complied after he was threatened with a forced glucose injection, a life-threatening procedure.
On Saturday, al-Issawi collapsed during an examination with the Ramle prison doctor. His lawyer says the doctor left the room, leaving al-Issawi lying unconscious on the floor.
The lawyer was also denied permission to meet Oday Keilani, who has been on hunger strike for 46 days in protest at Israel’s renewal of his detention without charge or trial, Addameer says.
Addameer called on the PLO and Islamic factions to support the prisoners and urged Egypt, which mediated the October 2011 prisoner exchange, to pressure Israel to release the hunger strikers immediately.
