King Abdullah II of Jordan on Thursday urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to stop Israeli settlement operations on Palestinian land, branding this a "violation" of the understanding reached at the Annapolis conference on November 27, according to an official statement, according to dpa. Olmert's rare visit to Jordan came on the heels of Wednesday's talks at Aqaba between King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. "The king reiterated Jordan's rejection of any settlement activity in the Palestinian territories, considering this a flagrant violation of what had been agreed at the Annapolis conference," a royal court statement said. Abdullah urged Olmert to refrain from any "unilateral actions that could impede progress in the ongoing negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians on final status issues." He also expressed hope that US President George W Bush's visit to the region next week would represent "a strong incentive for implementing what had been agreed on during the Annapolis meeting and to help the Palestinians and Israelis to fulfil their commitments," including the creation of an independent Palestinian state before the end of 2008.
