Joe Biden received King Abdullah II of Jordan, a fervent supporter of an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, on Monday for a discussion essentially devoted to the conflict as well as the long-term prospects for the Palestinian territory.
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The sovereign has started an international tour which will also see him go to Canada, France and Germany.
His first stop is in Washington to meet members of the US Congress, which is currently discussing US aid to Israel, and the US president.
Abdullah II, accompanied by his wife Queen Rania and Crown Prince Hussein, was received by Joe and Jill Biden at approximately 8:00 p.m. GMT. The two heads of state will each deliver a speech to the press at 9:00 p.m. GMT.
The king’s tour aims to “mobilize international support for a ceasefire in Gaza (…) and provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in sufficient quantities and on a permanent basis”, according to the palace.
Jordan, like other Arab states in the region, is calling for an immediate end to hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The United States does not want to hear about a ceasefire for the moment and prefers to raise the idea of a prolonged “pause” accompanied by the release of the hostages still held in Gaza.
“There cannot be a lasting end to the crisis until Hamas has released all the women and men it detains, without exception,” said White House spokesperson John Kirby.
Washington, Israel’s first ally, is letting its frustration with the government of Benjamin Netanyahu show more and more clearly.
“Credible plan”
Joe Biden called the Israeli Prime Minister on Sunday to urge him not to undertake a military operation in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, “without a credible and feasible plan” to protect the population.
“Without a project in this sense which is credible, and which they (Israel, editor’s note) are able to carry out, we do not support a large-scale military operation” in Rafah, repeated Monday a spokesperson for the State Department.
Asked if Benjamin Netanyahu listened to his advice, Joe Biden replied humorously: “Everyone does.”
Israel on Monday released two hostages held during a nighttime commando operation accompanied by deadly strikes on this town located on the border with Egypt, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians are refugees.
Beyond the current conflict, the president and the king also want, according to the senior official already cited, to raise the prospect of “lasting peace” in Gaza.
“This involves a two-state model with guarantees for Israel’s security as well as a revamped Palestinian Authority,” a senior US official said on Sunday.
The Jordanian kingdom, a neighbor of Israel and a major ally of the United States in the region, hosts more than two million Palestinian refugees according to the United Nations.
The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked on October 7 when commandos of the Palestinian movement infiltrated from the Gaza Strip, where the movement took power in 2007, carried out an attack in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,160 people, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
In retaliation, Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist organization, like the United States and the European Union, vowed to “destroy” this group and launched an offensive that left at least 28,340 people dead in the territory. Palestinians, the vast majority of them women, children and adolescents, according to the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health.
Israel estimates that around 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, 29 of whom are believed to have died, out of around 250 people kidnapped in Israel on October 7.
