Preparations made for ministerial meeting of Iraqi neighbors

22 October 2008

Amman-Preparations were made for the ministerial meeting of Iraqi neighbors to help beef up national security in Iraq through enforcing border security and contribution to the international campaign against terrorism, IRNA reported on Wednesday.

Experts of Iraq's neighboring states ended their meeting in the Jordanian capital city of Amman on Tuesday night preparing the grounds for the fifth ministerial meeting of Iraq's neighbors.

The expert meeting aimed at discussing Iraqi situation as well as preparing an agenda for the fifth ministerial meeting of Iraqi neighboring states which is to be held in Amman on Thursday.

Iran participated in the expert meeting with a delegation, headed by Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Abbas Mohtaj.

Iranian Interior Minister Ali Kordan will lead a delegation to Amman later on Wednesday.

IRNA reporter in Amman said that Interior ministers of Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Iraq are also expected to take part in the meeting.

The ministers will present reports on implementation of the decisions made in the previous ministerial meeting.

The first confab of Iraq's neighbouring states was held upon Iran's initiative in Tehran in 2004 followed by next meetings being held in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, respectively.

Iraq's neighbors will exchange views on how to fight terrorism, control border areas, prevent illegal cross-border movements and trafficking as well as the ways to promote development projects in border areas.

Iran has allocated some rls 400 billion for promotion of development projects along its borders with Iraq including expansion of border markets and investments by Iranian businessmen.

Experts of Iraqi neighbors kick off meeting in Amman

21 October 2008

Amman-The experts of Iraqi neighbors started a meeting in the Jordanian capital city of Amman on Tuesday.

Addressing the session, deputy Jordanian interior minister expressed hope that the meeting would help Iraq face the challenges safely.

He hoped that the meeting would help promote security for Iraq and its neighboring states.

An Iranian expert delegation, headed by Deputy Interior Minister for Security Affairs Abbas Mohtaj is taking part in the two-day meeting.

Meanwhile, the 5th ministerial conference of the Iraqi neighbors is to start on Thursday with participation of interior ministers from the neighboring countries.

Iranian Interior Minister Ali Kordan will lead a team to the ministerial meeting.

The delegates will present reports on implementation of the decisions made in the previous meeting.

The first confab of Iraq's neighbouring states was held upon Iran's initiative in Tehran in 2004 and the next such events were held in Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, respectively.

Iraq's neighbors have been committed to carry out various duties as control of borders, preventing illegal cross-border movements and trafficking along with promotion of development projects in border areas.

Iran has allocated some rls 400 billion for promotion of development projects along Iran-Iraq joint borders including expansion of border markets and investments by Iranian businessmen.

Japanese Prime Minister Meets with Palestinian and Jordanian Delegates

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (R) meets Palestinian Planning Minister Samer Abdullah (2nd- R), Jewish Environment Minister Gideon Ezra (2nd-L) and Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir at Fukuda's official residence on 2 July 2008 in Tokyo, Japan.

Peres Attends the Fourth Petra Conference of Nobel Laureates

Jewish President Shimon Peres speaks at the 4th Petra Conference of Nobel Laureates on 18 June 2008 in Petra, Jordan.

Participants at the conference will address regional socio-economic, scientific and cultural challenges, discussing mechanisms to promote cooperation in the region.

Jewish President Shimon Peres (L) meets the Dalai Lama at the 4th Petra Conference of Nobel Laureates in Petra, Jordan.
Jewish President Shimon Peres is greeted by Jordan's King Abdullah at the 4th Petra Conference of Nobel Laureate in Petra, Jordan.
Jewish President Shimon Peres is greeted by Jordan's King Abdullah and Queen Rania at the 4th Petra Conference of Nobel Laureate in Petra, Jordan.

Jordan To Send Aid, Medical Supplies To West Bank, Gaza

Jordan's King Abdullah II, Queen Rania and their son, Prince Hashem, attend the king's Physical Fitness award ceremony at Al-Hussein Sport City in Amman on 27 May 2008.

27 May 2008

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Tuesday ordered the dispatch of food aid and medical supplies to the West Bank and Gaza Strip to ease the hardships of Palestinians, the palace said.

Fifteen trucks laden with 200 metric tons of supplies will leave the kingdom for the Palestinian territories Wednesday, the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization Secretary Mohammed Aitan said in a palace statement.

"The shipment is part of Jordan's comprehensive aid program to support the Palestinian people in their current hardships, including an acute shortage of basic commodities," he said.

In coordination with the Palestinian Authority and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, seven trucks will go to Gaza and eight to the West Bank, the statement said.

Israel slapped a crippling blockade on Gaza after the Islamist Hamas group seized power there in June, and allows only a minimum of basic supplies into the impoverished costal enclave, where most people depend on international aid.

In the West Bank, hundreds of Israeli army roadblocks severely restrict the mobility of people and goods, according to the U.N.

King Abdullah II Arrived in Washington

An unidentified man greets King Abdullah II of Jordan (r) as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House in Washington, DC for a breakfast appointment with US President George W. Bush, on 23 April 2008.

Two days of Mideast diplomacy at the White House have begun with President Bush meeting with Jordan's King AbdullahII it was a quick session.

The king arrived and left within an hour.

Mahmoud Abbas is meeting Bush later in the day.

Abdullah to ask Bush to cancel visit

22 April 2008

Jordan-"Jordan's King Abdullah is expected to advise US President George W. Bush to postpone or cancel his upcoming visit to the Middle East," diplomatic sources in Amman told the London-based daily Al-Hayat, Tuesday

According to the report, Abdullah is expected to meet with Bush in Washington before his upcoming visit to the Middle East, and to deliver a message from the moderate Arab states. He will ask the US president to cancel his visit to the region "if there is not an agreement of principles between Israel and the Palestinians on the horizon."

A source from the king's bureau told Al-Hayat that Abdullah's one-day visit to Washington takes place in the framework of Arab countries' efforts to advance the peace process in the area.

The king will ask Bush to confirm, before he arrives in the Middle East, whether or not Israel is ready to sign a peace agreement before the end of the year, to do away with the Gaza blockage, and to cease settlement expansion, the report said

King Abdullah II to Meet with President Bush on Wednesday

King Abdullah II of Jordan (R), meets with Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (L), 20 April 2008 in Amman, Jordan.

21 April 2008

To: NATIONAL EDITORS

Contact: Embassy of Jordan Information Office, +1-202-265-1606, jordaninfo1@aol.com

AMMAN, Jordan, April 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- His Majesty King Abdullah II is scheduled to meet with US President George W. Bush in Washington on Wednesday, April 23.

King Abdullah, who will visit Washington at the invitation of President Bush, will discuss progress in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, the latest developments in the region and means to bolster bilateral ties between both countries.


SOURCE Embassy of Jordan

Carter in Jerusalem on Monday

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter, right, accompanied by his wife Rosalynn, left, arrive at Queen Alia International airport, in Amman, Jordan on 20 April 2008.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter is visiting King Abdullah II in Jordan today and Carter plans to be in Jerusalem on Monday for the final stop on his Mideast tour.

So far, Carter’s whole Middle East tour has been one of the greatest mistakes of his career.

It is understood, that every reception in the Middle East, has been a bitter cold one.

The Talking Fool

Fatah terrorist Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a press conference after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on 2 April 2008.

King Abdullah of Jordan, Abbas and Mubarak are expected to hold three-way talks on Fatah’s situation on Palestine today.

Rice Cavorting with Global Terrorist

Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice March 30, 2008 in Amman, Jordan.

While the United States may say, they are fighting terrorism on one hand, to go so far as invade Afghanistan and Iraq, then with the other hand, not only collaborating with global terrorist, but also cavorting with them.

This just shows where the United States actually stands on terrorism, even to go so far as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, jeopardizing her career with possible charges in International court on her illegal visit to Palestine.

Abbas' Fatah Security Forces Possibly to Deploy in Jenin

25 March 2008

Mahmoud Abbas plans to deploy hundreds of his security forces in the West Bank city of Jenin after they complete U.S.-funded training in Jordan, Jewish officials said on Tuesday.

Jewish officials said the planned deployment in Jenin, in the northern West Bank, could include up to 500 to 600 men. Fatah forces took up positions in the larger West Bank city of Nablus in November as part of a law-and-order campaign.

Nearly 700 members of Abbas's Fatah National Security Forces crossed into Jordan in January to begin the four-month-long, U.S.-funded training course.

A separate group from Abbas's Fatah Presidential Guard has also gone to Jordan for advanced training.

Salam Fayyad and some U.S. officials have accused the Jewish people of undermining Fatah Palestinian security efforts in Nablus by refusing to curtail army raids into the city. Palestine unified troops clashed with stone-throwing Palestinians in a Nablus refugee camp on Tuesday, but no injuries were reported.

The Jewish people has been under increasing U.S. pressure to take steps to bolster Abbas. News of the planned deployment came on Monday.

The defense minister said that the Jewish people would facilitate the construction of several industrial zones meant to provide thousands of jobs and boost the Palestinian economy. Many of the projects, funded by foreign governments, have been held up because of Jewish security concerns.

Israel putting spoke in wheels of 'Abbas army'

Members of the Fatah terrorist organization perform crowd-control tactics during training in Jordan that one critic calls "under funded, under equipped, under-everything." (By Ellen Knickmeyer -- The Washington Post)

Washington Post reports plan to train 1,000 Palestinian security officers in Jordan mired in delays, shortage of resources, different between Americans and Israelis

3 March 2008

by Ynet

What is delaying the training of Palestinian police officers in Jordan? A US-funded program to train and equip Palestinian security forces is mired in delays, a shortage of resources, and differences between Israel and the United States over what military capabilities those forces should have once deployed in the territories, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

The group of more than 1,000 Palestinian trainees is being trained in a desert camp one hour from Jordan's capital, Amman.

The courses are the first extended training of Palestinian recruits since June, when hundreds of Fatah graduates of a US-backed, 45-day crash course conducted in Egypt were deployed against Hamas fighters in Gaza.

But doubts in Israel and in the US Congress about the loyalties of Abbas's forces have slowed the arrival of the program's funding.

US contract workers and Jordanian security forces are training about 600 members of the Fatah-dominated National Security Forces, or NSF, in a 16-week course. About 425 members of the elite presidential guard, which answers to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, are undergoing eight weeks of training.

According to the report, although Israel insists that the Palestinians must have effective security in the West Bank and Gaza before its forces withdraw further, the Israeli government has placed significant restrictions on the US-coordinated training effort.

Weeks into the course, which began in late January, US and Jordanian instructors had yet to receive essential training equipment, including vehicles, two-way radios, dummy pistols, rifles and batons, and a US-designed curriculum, Americans with close knowledge of the program told The Washington Post.

Because of Israeli concerns, the group has not been outfitted with pledged body armor or light-armored personnel carriers. The shortages and delays have forced US and Jordanian trainers to improvise their way through the program, including purchasing pistol-shaped cigarette lighters for use in arrest drills and using their own cars for driver training.

One of the Americans told The Washington Post, "In short, we are faking it."

Abbas: Israel has agreed to cease-fire with Hamas

In this handout image provided by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) meets with King Abdullah II of Jordan on March 10, 2008 in Amman, Jordan. Abbas was in Jordan for talks with the Jordanian King. (Photo by /PPO via Getty Images)

11 March 2008

By Barak Ravid and Amos Harel

Even as Israel's leadership denied that a deal was reached with Hamas on a cease-fire, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas insisted Monday that such an agreement was reached, through Egyptian mediation.

And Hamas, for its part, claimed that the drop in the violence stemmed from Israel's realization that its offensive in the Gaza Strip had failed.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both rejected any suggestion that a cease-fire agreement had been reached with Hamas. They were responding to Monday's Haaretz report stating that the Israel Defense Forces had been ordered to restrain itself in Gaza pursuant to an unofficial agreement with Hamas.

Whatever the reason, the calm continued for a fourth straight day Monday, with no Qassam rockets being fired at Israeli communities from Gaza and no IDF attacks on targets in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Olmert insisted that no negotiations are being conducted with Hamas, either directly or indirectly. Speaking to reporters at the end of a meeting in Jerusalem with visiting Czech President Mirek Toplolanek, he said: "There is no cease-fire agreement; there are no negotiations, direct or indirect."

Barak, who spoke during a visit to the IDF base at Tel Hashomer, said that "at this moment, there is no agreement with Hamas for calm on the ground. When we want to act in Gaza, we shall. When terrorism and arms smuggling into the Strip stop, then we will consider the path toward calm. We are committed to restoring calm to the area and we shall, even if it takes time - and it will involve effort."

However, Barak also spoke of the benefits of calm along the border with Gaza. "If there is school in Ashkelon today without Grad [missiles], and students are in school in Sderot and at Sapir College without Qassams, I suggest that we do not complain about a quiet day."

In contrast to Olmert and Barak, Abbas said Monday that there is a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

In an interview with the satellite television station Al-Arabiya, Abbas said that Hamas had asked for immunity from Israeli assassination attempts on its leaders and those of Islamic Jihad, "and I think Israel agreed, or will agree soon."

He said that details of the deal will emerge in the coming days.

Separately, speaking to reporters after talks with King Abdullah II in Jordan, Abbas added that the deal was reached through Egyptian mediation.

"I believe an agreement has been reached in principle" on a cease-fire, Abbas said. "Hamas will stop firing rockets on Israel, and in return, Israel will halt attacks on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."

He also said that the deal provided for "easing the siege on the Gaza Strip and the reopening of crossing points" into the Hamas-controlled territory.

"Hamas has demanded that its leaders and those of Islamic Jihad be protected against Israeli attacks, and I believe the Israelis have agreed," he added.

Responding to a question about the feasibility of resuming negotiations with Israel at a time when Olmert has approved the building of 750 new housing units in a settlement near Jerusalem - one that Israel wants to keep under any deal - Abbas said: "We consider all settlements as illegal."

"We are going to tell the Israelis that all settlements they build today or tomorrow and all settlements they built after the 1967 war are illegal, and we are going to deal with [them] on this basis," he added.

Abbas said that King Abdullah had expressed support for all international and regional efforts aimed at "helping the Palestinians and Israelis to resume peace talks and find solutions to core issues in accordance with a well-defined timetable."

Meanwhile, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh thanked Egypt Monday for its efforts to bring about a cease-fire with Israel, adding that he hoped this would be followed by a deal to mend the rift between the Islamic organization and Abbas's Fatah party.

The Hamas leader also said that the calm stemmed from Israel's realization that its policy in the Strip had failed, and that Hamas had an effective deterrent against Israeli "aggression."

Rice consults Clinton, Carter in run-up to Annapolis summit

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaking on Thursday at the State Department in Washington. (Reuters)

27 October 2007

By The Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is looking to the past for lessons on how to make next month's Mideast peace conference a success.

As she prepares to host the international meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, Rice has delved into the history of U.S. attempts to mediate peace in the region, plunging into the diplomatic annals and seeking out the major players responsible for both successes and failures.

"She's trying to draw on the historical record and the experiences of others to see what she can glean and how that may be applicable to the current day," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Friday, ahead of Rice's Nov. 4-6 trip to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, her second in three weeks to organize the Annapolis gathering.

Most recently, she met this week with Jimmy Carter, sitting down in her office on Wednesday for a talk with the former president who brokered the 1978 Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt, the first between Israel and an Arab nation.

Carter has been a vocal critic of the Bush administration's Middle East polices and wrote a recent book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, that some believe is anti-Israeli. McCormack said the differences in approach were not a subject of her conversation.

Rice has also spoken by phone with former President Bill Clinton about his work on the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace deal. She discussed with both Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright the unsuccessful 2000 attempt in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, to mediate an Israeli-Syrian agreement and their bid later that year at Camp David to forge an Israeli-Palestinian pact.

Others she has reached out to include former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and James Baker, and to one-time U.S. peace negotiators like Dennis Ross, who played a key role in the Clinton administration and the administration of former President George H.W. Bush.

In addition, Rice, whose background is in Soviet studies, asked the State Department historian's office to prepare a voluminous, and classified, compendium of its records on the U.S. role in Middle East peacemaking.

McCormack declined to offer details of her private readings and conversations or discuss any conclusions she may have drawn from them. But he noted that Rice, especially given her background as an academic, has intense interest in studying past diplomacy for clues about what might work as the Annapolis meeting approaches.

"We view the situation as qualitatively different than it has been, the history moves on, people change roles, situations," McCormack said.

"That said, you can take the lessons of history and apply them," he said. "She is a student of history and has a keen appreciation for how we can apply the lessons of history, what we can learn from those who have gone before us."

Rice faces serious obstacles in organizing Annapolis, with both Israel and the Palestinians far apart on a joint statement to be presented to the meeting that she and President George W. Bush hope will launch the start of formal peace talks.

The two sides have fundamental differences over how detailed the document must be and whether it should contain a timeline for progress in the eventual negotiations.

The Israelis want the statement to be as vague as possible while the Palestinians are pushing for deadlines and specific references to the key issues in the conflict, among them the borders of a Palestinian state, the status of disputed Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Rice's last trip to the region, a furious four-day shuttle diplomacy mission earlier this month, produced little apparent progress on bringing the two sides together.

However, she did win at least public support for the Annapolis conference from Egypt and Jordan, two critical Arab allies of the United States that had both expressed skepticism about the utility of the meeting.

Collaborator’s Abbas and Abdullah Meet Attempting Drum Up support About November Summit

Abbas Hopes Meetings with Olmert, US Peace Conference will Result in Final Status Negotiations

1 October 2007

Jordan – Ma'an – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas held talks today with Jordan's King Abdullah focused on developments in plans for the November peace conference in the United States.

President Abbas briefed the King on the outcome of his meeting last Monday in New York with President George W. Bush on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Abbas is hoping to enter into negotiations towards a final peace settlement with Israel, through the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the Arab Peace initiative and relevant international resolutions.

Abbas said "we talked with the King on the outcome of the talks and meetings he held with President Bush and the international meeting and rescheduled and will be attended by the parties," indicating he would consult with King Abdullah after his meeting next Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Speaking with journalists after the meeting, Abbas said that the preliminary meetings will be aimed at eventually negotiating a final peace treaty that addresses the most difficult issues.

Any such agreement, he said, "Must be comprehensive to all the issues of the final stage, including Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, borders, security and water."

"We are negotiating with the Israelis and after that an agreement will be reached and taken to the international summit for ratification and approval before negotiations over the details begin," he added.

Abbas said the conference will the 12 states of the Arab Follow-Up Committee the Secretary General of the Arab League, as well as the permanent members of the Security Council, members of the Quartet and a number of Islamic such as Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The pronouncement comes the same day that Syria announced its intention to boycott the conference if the issue of the Golan Heights, formerly part of Syria but annexed by Israel in 1980, is not addressed.

Abdullah and Abbas intend to continue coordination and consultation in advance of the meeting, building support for an agenda that will include the "final status" issues.

The peace conference is scheduled to begin November 15th in the United States.

Invitations to a Failed Summit?

US to Invite Syria, Arabs to Summit

RAMALLAH, West Bank, 23 September 2007 — US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Washington plans to invite six Arab states including Syria to a Middle East peace conference, Abbas’ aides said.

Abbas’ senior aide Nimer Hammad said yesterday Washington would like Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, plus the Palestinian Authority to attend the US-sponsored conference, expected to be held in November.

Rice held talks with Abbas during her sixth visit to the region last week as part of efforts to prod Israel and the Palestinians closer to an agreement ahead of the conference.

“Rice told President Abbas in their meeting on Thursday that the US plans to invite the Arab states delegated by the Arab League to follow up the Arab peace initiative. These...states of course include Syria and Lebanon,” Hammad told Reuters.

Rice did not say who would be invited to the conference, expected to be held in the Washington area, during her visit. Among the six Arab states, only Jordan and Egypt have full diplomatic relations with Israel. The rest link formal ties with the Jewish state to an Israeli withdrawal from Arab land it occupied in 1967. Relations between Israel and Syria are particularly tense after reports that the Jewish state conducted airstrikes in Syria this month.

Syria has said it was ready to take part in the conference which US President George W. Bush called for in July to try to revive Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. US-Syrian relations have plummeted in recent years amid policy differences over Iraq, Lebanon and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Doubts have risen recently over the conference amid Israeli-Palestinian differences over the outcome of the meeting, with Saudi Arabia saying it may not attend unless it addressed all issues and a timetable for peace was agreed in advance.

The Palestinians have said it would be difficult for Abbas to attend a conference that other Arab countries boycott. “We hope enough progress could be made before the conference in order to encourage Arab states to attend,” a senior Abbas aide said.

Abbas’ aides said the Palestinian leader was coming under pressure from his own Fatah group and from some Arab states to boycott the conference if he failed to get written guarantees on key conditions ahead of the meeting.

Those conditions include agreement on a Palestinian state in the West Bank, including Arab East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, with a clear implementation timeline. Rice told a news conference last week she had assured Abbas the conference should put the Palestinians firmly on the path to establishing their own state. She said she was optimistic Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Abbas could agree a joint document on key final status issues such as borders, the fate of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees and Jewish settlements. But she said she did not think the document would include a timetable for Palestinian statehood.

In another development, chanting “Yes to Palestinian unity,” some 200 Palestinian women marched in Ramallah yesterday to urge President Abbas to release Hamas supporters from West Bank jails.

Scuffles broke out when the women — wearing veils and shouting “God is great” — tried to push past police, who tried to stop the march in the West Bank hub of Ramallah, where Abbas’ Fatah faction is dominant. Police detained one woman after she sprayed gas at a policeman but no serious violence erupted.

“It is Ramadan and our brothers and fathers are in Abbas’ jails,” said a woman who gave her name only as Rula. “We are one Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank...Abbas is helping the Israelis by jailing his own people.”

Bedouin Herders Protest Over Rise of Fodder Price

Anti-riot police disperses protesters on the outskirts of Amman, yesterday. Riot police clashed with more than 200 Bedouin herders blocking the country's main highway with burning tyres in protest over price hikes for animal feed, said witnesses on the scene.

30 August 2007

Amman: More than 200 Bedouin herders blocked the road from Jordan's main port of Aqaba to the airport yesterday, burning tyres and hurling stones at police in protest over price hikes for fodder, said witnesses on the scene.

The livestock owners, who also damaged the car of government officials who tried to speak with them, were demonstrating against a Tuesday decision to more than double the price of a tonne of barley from 90 Jordanian dinars (about Dh450) to 256 dinars.

"We cannot live any more, we have become refugees in our own country," shouted a herder protesting near the barley silos in Juweideh, south of Amman. "The government always gives the refugee camps aid and nobody cares for us Bedouin."

When Amman governor Sa'ad Al Wadi Al Manaseer accompanied by Trade Ministry secretary general Muntaser Al Oqlah drove up to talk to the demonstrators, they were met with a hail of rocks and required police assistance to escape.

Similar protests broke out in the southern town of Ziziya and in the northern city of Mafraq, but in no cases were any clashes reported with police. The bulk of the livestock owners come from prominent tribal Bedouin families.

Jordan's King Abdullah Attempt’s to Pressure Palestinians for Abbas

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) is greeted by King Abdullah II August 29, 2007 in the Jordanian capital. Abbas reportedly briefed the king on his talks yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. (Photo by Omar Rashidi/PPO via Getty Images)

Mideast Conference Lacks Clarity: Abbas

30 August 2007

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Wednesday that a US-sponsored international peace conference planned for November could fail if no plan for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was devised ahead of the meeting.

Following closed-door talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman, Abbas told state-run Jordan Television that the proposed conference ''lacked clarity.''

He said he did not know an official date, other than mid-November, for the conference and was unsure who would attend.

''The third issue is related to the content of the meeting,'' Abbas said.

''If we go to a conference without clarity on a solution and without a declaration of principles within the framework of a work plan, I don't think that the conference will be beneficial,'' he added.

On Tuesday, Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert tackled the core issues that have tormented Mideast peacemakers for decades - Palestinian refugees, final borders and the fate of Jerusalem.

It was the first time both leaders addressed such issues in depth and represented an important building block for the fall peace conference.

Olmert has met several times with Abbas in the past few months, but had been reluctant to take on the most contentious issues, preferring to focus on general outlines.

That approach riled Palestinians, who want to take on the core questions of Palestinian statehood.

Heading into the meeting at Olmert's Jerusalem residence on Tuesday, Abbas warned that the fall peace conference would be a ''waste of time'' if the three big issues were glossed over.

But after the talks, both sides confirmed that Israel had swept aside its reluctance to address them.

In Amman on Wednesday, Abdullah discussed with Olmert in a telephone conversation the efforts to ''push forward the peace process between Palestinians and Israelis,'' the official Petra news agency reported.

It did not say if Abdullah's call to Olmert was after his meeting with Abbas.

Abbas said he briefed Abdullah on his talks with Olmert and outlined the ''daily hardships'' facing the Palestinian people, including Israeli delays at checkpoints and prisoners held in Israeli jails.

A royal palace statement said Abdullah backed Palestinian demands that Israel engages in discussions on the core issues in their conflict to ''guarantee the success of the international peace conference.''

Abdullah said Palestinians should ''unify'' their ranks to achieve their goal for statehood - a reference to the conflict between Abbas's moderate Fatah faction and the militant Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip in a bloody coup in June.

The king also repeated his call on the international community to provide urgently needed economic assistance to improve Palestinian living conditions, especially in the Hamas-ruled coastal strip.

Source

Abbas Says No Talks With Hamas During Meeting

(KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP/Getty Images)

15 August 2007

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (R) gestures as he speaks during a meeting of the General Union of Palestine Workers in Amman.

Abbas reiterated today there will be no talks with Hamas, but acknowledged that the group is an 'integral' part of the Palestinian people.

His statement came during a surprise visit to Jordan to address the meeting of the General Union of Palestine Workers.