Jordan's king urges 'lasting' Gaza ceasefire in talks with Biden
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The two leaders discuss in the White House efforts to ensure that the war does not spread across a volatile region.
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(L-R) King Abdullah II of Jordan speaks as US President Joe Biden looks on in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 12, 2024. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)
Jordan's King Abdullah II appealed for a full ceasefire to end the war in Gaza after talks with US President Joe Biden, who is seeking a shorter six-week pause.
Speaking at the White House with Abdullah by his side, Biden said civilians in the southern city of Rafah must be protected as "Israel" considers a ground invasion, while the Jordanian King warned against any offensive at all.
"We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end," said the Jordanian monarch, who has repeatedly pushed for a full truce to end the war.
In his first face-to-face meeting with Biden since October 7, Abdullah stressed that the world "cannot afford an Israeli attack" on Rafah.
"It is certain to produce another humanitarian catastrophe. We cannot stand by and let this continue," he underlined.
The United States has consistently refused to call for a full ceasefire and called for shorter pauses with prisoner exchange deals instead.
However, Biden has also started to take a harder line with key US ally "Israel", saying last week that "Israel's" response in the Gaza Strip had been "over the top."
The US President said Monday he had insisted that civilians in Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are trapped, "need to be protected."
He said Washington was working on a prisoner exchange deal between "Israel" and the Palestinian Resistance that "would bring in mediate and sustained period of calm to Gaza for at least six weeks," adding that key elements were in place but "gaps" remained.
Biden notably referred to the fact that there were "over 27,000 Palestinians killed," apparently accepting the Palestinian toll having questioned it back in October, and said that "too many" were children.
The two leaders also discussed efforts to ensure that the war does not spread across a volatile region.
Washington is the first stop of a tour by the Jordanian king that will also take in Canada, France and Germany, amid mounting international efforts for a deal to pause the war in Gaza.
Biden was meant to travel to Jordan for talks with Abdullah when he visited Israel less than two weeks after the start of the war, but the meeting was canceled after the massacre that the Israeli occupation forces committed against the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital that caused anger across the Arab world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Abdullah in Amman in January. The Jordanian monarch urged the top diplomat to push for a ceasefire in Gaza and end the humanitarian crisis there.
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