Israel’s President Isaac Herzog returned Wednesday afternoon from an official visit to Jordan.
Herzog met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the royal palace in Amman, where he and the king spoke with reporters following their talks.
The Jordanian monarch condemned Tuesday night’s deadly terror attack that claimed the lives of five Israelis in Bnei Brak, including that of a Christian Israeli Arab police officer who shot and neutralized the killer before succumbing to his own mortal wounds.
“The conflict has been going on for a long time and the violence that has been created continues to be fertile ground for extremism,” the Hashemite monarch said. “I condemn in the name of Jordan the violence in all its forms. . . Every life matters.”
“We’ve suffered from heinous terror attacks in the last ten days,” Herzog told Abdullah. “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,” he said.
“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 with 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,” Herzog said.
“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,” he added.
The Israeli president wished Abdullah, his family and “the entire people of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan” a “Ramadan Kareem in peace and prosperity.”
