Prime Minister Yair Lapid met last night in New York with King Abdullah of Jordan and with Turkish President Erdogan. The three leaders are attending the UN General Assembly in New York.
The meeting between Lapid and the King of Jordan focused on tensions and the terrorist attacks in the West Bank, and Lapid talked about the need to calm the situation ahead of the Tishrei holidays, the Prime Minister’s Office said. They also discussed civil economic cooperation between Israel and Jordan. This is Lapid’s second meeting with the king since July, when they met at the royal palace in Rabat Ammon.
In his speech before the General Assembly, the King of Jordan spoke about Jordan’s role as the guardian of the holy places in Jerusalem, and warned against changes in the status quo on the Temple Mount. “The future of Jerusalem is a source of concern,” said the king, “the city is holy to Muslims, Christians and Jews, and damage to its historical and legal status could create international tensions and deepen the gap between religions.”
The meeting between the Prime Minister of Israel and the President of Turkey was the first since 2008 and the first since Erdogan announced the renewal of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The PM’s office said that over the years they discussed the phenomena of terrorism in Israel and the world, and Lapid thanked Erdogan for intelligence cooperation that thwarted Iranian attacks on Turkish soil. Lapid brought up the topic of prisoners and missing persons in the conversation.