President Isaac Herzog was received today at Al Husseiniya Palace in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan by King Abdullah II at an official ceremony that began with an honor guard against the backdrop of Israeli and Jordanian flags.
Upon his arrival, the President and the King held a tête-à-tête meeting, after which they held a diplomatic meeting with the participation of both delegations. At the start of the meeting, King Abdullah condemned the recent terror attacks and expressed his condolences to the victims’ families.
At the start of the meeting, President Isaac Herzog said: “Thank you very much, Your Majesty, my good friend. Thank you for your warm hospitality and friendship and for inviting me to this unique event, which I think expresses the friendship between our peoples. I bring a message of warm regards and friendship from the Israeli people.
“We have suffered heinous terror attacks in the last ten days. Eleven innocent lives were taken in terrible attacks by vile terrorists. We must fight together against any type of terror and cooperate for the benefit of the security of our nations. We in Israel are extremely sad today. People are going to funerals. And I thank you for your condemnation as well as many other nations and leaders, including in our region, condemning this heinous attack.
“We share common values of prosperity and peace, based on our peace agreement, which was carved out by the late King Hussein, your legendary father, as well as by the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Together, we must now move forward, and we are offering an alternative. As against the horrible scenes of yesterday, we offer a different alternative of people-to-people dialogue, of respect, of speaking to each other, of showing the region that there could be a different way.
“I always say, the fact that Muslim leaders are meeting together Jewish leaders and Israeli leaders is an alternative to the abyss of hatred and bloodshed. And therefore we move forward with partnerships, with dialogue, towards peace and prosperity for the benefit of all peoples of the region, including our nations and including our Palestinian neighbors.
“As we enter these holy days, for all three religions, with Easter, Passover, and of course Ramadan, we must move towards enabling everyone to practice their beliefs in safety, in security, in calm circumstances. This is what we need to work towards, and we know that there is a constant dialogue between the Israeli Government and your government towards that goal, as well as all other partners in the region.
“May I conclude, Your Majesty, by wishing you, your family, and the entire people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan a Ramadan Kareem, in peace and prosperity. Thank you very much.”