Jordan PM: Ties with Israel deteriorated over settlements

Samir Rifai tells Qatari paper that relations between the countries at lowest point since peace agreement signed.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifai said Sunday that relations between Israel and Jordan are the lowest point they have been since the peace agreement was signed between the two countries.
Rifai explained Qatari newspaper Al-Shark that the reason for this deterioration in diplomatic ties is because of "the settlement building policy, the unilateral steps that Israel adopts and the continued human rights violations against the Palestinian people."
RELATED:Arab World: Here, we love our kingUN resolution draft demanding settlement halt submitted
"Jordan is interested in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital," Rifai told the paper.
Rifai went on to say that Jordan is interested in supervision of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
"We are the the ones who are most affected by Israel's policy on settlements. It has greatly affected the relations between Israel and Jordan," the Jordanian prime minister explained to Al-Shark.