His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday underlined the need to exert all possible efforts to rally international support to take “practical and concrete steps” to launch Palestinian-Israeli negotiations as soon as possible.

Such negotiations, King Abdullah said, should be in line with the adopted terms of reference, especially the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which offers Israel peace and normal relations with all Arab countries in return for withdrawal from all territory occupied in the 1967 war.

At a meeting on Sunday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the two leaders discussed the results of the King's visit to Washington, DC, last month, during which he urged the US to play a leading role in launching serious negotiations to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution within a regional context, according to a Royal Court statement.

The two leaders stressed the importance of continued coordination on an Arab position to realise tangible progress towards creating an independent Palestinian state, a key step to bringing about security and stability in the region.

King Abdullah and Abbas underlined the need to freeze all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in Jerusalem. King Abdullah underlined Jordan's unequivocal opposition to any Israeli measures that aim to change the identity of the holy city by expelling Arab residents and demolishing their homes, as well as actions that violate the sanctity of its sacred places.

The two leaders also emphasised the need for the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip, to ensure the entry of medical and humanitarian assistance to the coastal enclave and to allow reconstruction to begin.

In remarks to the media after the meeting, Abbas said that King Abdullah raised several important issues with regards to resolving Middle East conflict in his talks with President Barack Obama and US officials.

The King said on Monday, at a separate meeting with political and media figures, that he was satisfied with the outcome of the visit, pointing out that there is a chance to resolve the conflict according to the two-state solution and in a regional framework, but cautioned that this chance depends on a coordinated Arab effort to reach a peace that restores all Arab rights.

"I am satisfied with Obama's position and that of the US administration for the future of our brothers in the West Bank and Gaza. We have so much to do - Jordan and other Arab states - to protect and assist the Palestinians," the King said.

"We're working to achieve results, not to take pictures. We decide and plan for the benefit of our brothers in Palestine and Iraq and all Arab countries in the framework of coordination and cooperation with our brothers,” King Abdullah added.

On his upcoming visit to the US, Abbas said: "I will visit Cairo and several Arab states prior to the visit to the US on May 28, where I will hold talks with the US administration on all political issues and our conditions for future negotiations."

The conditions and demands, he said, are congruent with the two-state solution and include a halt to settlement activities and home demolitions.