Sharjah 24 – AFP: Jordan's King Abdullah II met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah on Monday, in his first trip to the Israeli-occupied West Bank since 2017, Abbas's office said.

Abdullah's visit, which lasted about two hours, was held less than a week before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which last year saw waves of violence across the West Bank and Israeli-annexed east Al Quds.

Palestinian officials have repeatedly warned that the West Bank, which Israel captured from Jordan in 1967, was on the verge of "exploding".

Tensions in the occupied territory remain high between Palestinian residents and Jewish settlers, who live in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law.

Palestinians also regularly clash with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, often resulting in Palestinian deaths.

Jordan has a special role as custodian of the Al Aqsa mosque in Al Quds, the third holiest site in Islam.