King to meet Pope, Macron this week

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah is scheduled to visit the Vatican and meet with Pope Francis on Tuesday to discuss the US administration’s announcement to recognise occupied Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to relocate the US embassy to the occupied city.

After the Vatican, the King will head to Paris, where he will hold talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on latest regional developments, especially those related to the holy city, a Royal Court Statement said on Saturday. 

The Pope and Macron were among the first world figures to reject US President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem, calling for keeping the status quo of the city.

His Majesty has been leading an aggressive diplomatic push to contain any repercussions of the move, meeting and contacting in the process an array of regional and global leaders and taking part in an Islamic summit hosted in Istanbul, Turkey.

As the custodian of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, His Majesty has been vocal in criticising Trump over his decision on Jerusalem, Reuters said. 

A popular stand came in tune with that of the leadership, with Jordanians, for the second weekend in a row, took to the streets in Amman and other governorates to protest the decision on Friday.