AMMAN, 06 January 2022, (TON): Jordan’s King Abdullah has publicly hosted a senior Israeli official for the first time in more than four years.

Pictures released by the official Jordanian news agency Petra showed the monarch, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi, and the director of his office Jafar Hassan, with Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

The meeting took place less than 24 hours after Israel defused a tense situation in the occupied Palestinian territories leading to the end of a 141-day hunger strike by Hisham Abu Hawash who was protesting his administrative detention by the Israelis.

Petra said that during talks, the king reiterated the need to maintain calm in the Palestinian territories, and to take the necessary measures toward achieving a just and comprehensive peace, based on the two-state solution.

Tagreed Odeh, a Jordanian analyst focused on the Palestinian issue, told Arab News that the visit would help “improve diplomatic relations” with Israel after years of Amman being sidelined during the administrations of former US President Donald Trump and ex-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.