Jordanian tribal sheikhs meet with Israel's president

A group of Jordanian tribal sheikhs met with the president of Israel on Wednesday in his residence in occupied Jerusalem, said an Israeli government press release.

The Jordanian sheikhs reportedly represent tribes from across Jordan.

The meeting was part of a five-day visit to Israel, during which they have met with a number of Israeli leaders.

The president of Israel sald: “Our history in Israel...is of 210 years of continuous connection with the Arab communities in the Land of Israel, and of course with the Bedouin sheikhs." 

This comes a few days after the Palestinian people commemorated the Nakba, the 'catastrophic' loss of Palestine in 1948 to the nascent state of Israel that led to the continuing displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and their descendants.

In 1967, Israel conquered by force what was left of historic Palestine, including the West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the international community still does not recognise as Israeli. Israel's occupation entered its 50th year in 2017.

The Israeli president added: "We believe wholeheartedly that everyone of us needs the ability to serve God according to their faith. When you go around Jerusalem you see how Muslims go to the mosques, Christians to church, and Jews to [the] synagogue."

But under the Israeli occupation, Muslims have faced increasing restrictions and assaults on their holy sites. Christians have not fared much better, with the most infamous anti-Christian campaign led by Israeli extremists being the so-called Price Tag attacks on Christian sites.

The sheikhs thanked the President for his 'warm welcome', and said, “We have come from the land of a hero of peace, King Hussein, a land of agreement, cooperation, and giving, a land of peace and tolerance. We came here in order to implement the peace process, in the name of the leaders of the Hashemite Kingdom, and we bring words of peace to all with whom we speak.”

Jordan is one of two Arab nations that have signed a peace treaty with Israel, the other being Egypt. However, normalisation of ties with Israel remains deeply unpopular among Jordanians, a large segment of whom are Palestinian refugees, with movements calling for the boycott of Israel enjoying popularity in recent years.