WASHINGTON: Jordan’s King Abdullah II has called for a full ceasefire to end the war in Gaza, clashing with the US president, who is seeking a shorter six-week break to give Israel time to defeat Hamas.
Earlier, Jordan’s King held talks with US president Joe Biden. Speaking at the White House with Abdullah at his side, Biden said civilians in the southern city of Rafah must be protected as Israel considers a ground invasion, while Jordan warned against any offensive.
Biden, 81, said the US was working to negotiate a pause in fighting in the Gaza Strip of at least six weeks as part of a broader deal that would also include the release of hostages.
“We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end,” said Jordan’s King, who has repeatedly pushed for a full truce to end the conflict that started when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 last year.
In what was his first face-to-face meeting with Biden since the attack, Abdullah said 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.”
The United States has consistently refused to call for a full ceasefire, saying it supports Israel’s efforts to defeat Hamas, calling instead for shorter pauses in hostage deals.
But Biden also began to take a tougher stance on key US ally Israel, saying last week that Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip had been “excessive”.
Flanked by US and Jordanian flags, Biden and the king earlier embraced as they met on the front steps of the White House for their first face-to-face talks since the October 7 attacks.
The two dignitaries were accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden, Queen Rania and Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein.
Biden joked during the arrival ceremony that “everyone does” when asked if Benjamin Netanyahu had heeded his advice to avoid the Rafah offensive.
But he later said he insisted that civilians in Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are trapped, “need to be protected.”
He said Washington was working on a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that would bring (an) immediate and sustained period of calm in Gaza for at least six weeks.”
The two leaders also discussed efforts to ensure that the conflict does not spread across the volatile region.
Three US soldiers were killed in a drone attack on a base in Jordan in January, which prompted US airstrikes against Iran-backed militant groups in Iraq and Syria.
Washington is the first stop on the Jordanian king’s tour, which will also visit Canada, Germany and France, amid growing global efforts for a deal to end fighting in Gaza and free hostages held by Hamas there.
Biden was due to travel to Jordan for talks with Abdullah when he visited Israel less than two weeks after the first attack, but the meeting was canceled after an explosion at a hospital in Gaza sparked anger across the Arab world.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Abdullah in Amman in January. Jordan’s monarch has called on the top diplomat to enforce a ceasefire in Gaza and end the humanitarian crisis there.
