Jordan's king visited the West Bank today in a show of support for Palestinians stung by Israel's decision to expand settlements after their successful bid for de facto U.N. recognition of statehood.
King Abdullah, whose country is at peace with Israel and an ally of the United States, made no immediate comment after flying by helicopter to the city of Ramallah for talks with Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel and the United States opposed the U.N. General Assembly's upgrading of the Palestinians' status to "non-member state", saying Abbas should instead resume peace talks that collapsed in 2010 over Israeli settlement-building.
King Abdullah's rare visit to the West Bank, the first by an Arab leader to the territory since the Palestinian resolution was approved a week ago, coincided with strong international criticism of Israeli plans to construct some 3,000 settler homes in the strategic E1 corridor near Jerusalem.
Palestinian leaders have said they may seek a resolution condemning the move at the U.N. Security Council, where Israel's main ally, the United States, has veto power.
"The world has rejected settlements as unconstructive and illegal and there...
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