AMMAN: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has visited Jordan to meet King Abdullah II to discuss regional political and economic issues, as well as Palestine and Syria.
Mamdouh Abadi, the former Jordanian prime minister, told Arab News he believed the visit was largely about Iran and Syria. “The timing of the visit, just after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s tour of the region, makes me think the visit was not about Palestine, but about Syria.”
Veteran politician Abadi added: “I am happy there was a visit. I hope that President El-Sisi discusses Syria with others. Now that the UAE has restored ties with Damascus, this should loosen the regional boycott of Syria.”
Lamis Andoni, a veteran commentator on US-Arab relations, told Arab News he thought there was a clear link between the visit of Pompeo and suggestions of the creation of a pan-Arab military alliance.
“Jordan has no choice but to improve relations with Egypt. Egypt and Jordan must prepare for what comes next in Syria.”
Andoni believes that the problems lie with the Trump administration’s haphazard foreign policy. “All of a sudden, Washington decides something, and wants regional partners to produce results according to its vision,” he said. “If an Arab ‘NATO’ force is created, will it be asked to help remove Iran from Syria?”
Anis F. Kassim, editor of the Palestinian Yearbook of International Law, however, was not convinced that the Palestinian issue was not discussed at the meeting in Amman.
Kassim told Arab News he worried Egypt might try to lobby Jordan to push the Palestinians into accepting the US peace plan. “Jordan has been a strong opponent to the ‘Deal of the Century,’ and when it comes to Jerusalem it is more principled than the Palestinian leadership,” he said.
The meeting in Amman was also attended by Jordan’s crown prince, Hussein Bin Abdullah, the Jordanian foreign minister Ayman Safadi, and Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry.
Egypt’s President El-Sisi makes whirlwind visit to Jordan
Egypt’s President El-Sisi makes whirlwind visit to Jordan
- Egypt might try to lobby Jordan to push the Palestinians into accepting the US peace plan
- Egypt and Jordan must prepare for what comes next in Syria, says expert
Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir recounts her journey after her son’s abduction by Hamas
- Random House announced Thursday that “When We See You Again” will be published April 26
- “I sat down to write my pain, and out poured loss, suffering, love, mourning, devotion, grief, adoration and fracturedness,” Goldberg-Polin said
NEW YORK: Rachel Goldberg-Polin, who has become known worldwide for her advocacy on behalf of her son and others abducted by Hamas-led militants on Oct. 7, 2023, has a memoir coming out this spring.
Random House, an imprint of Penguin Random House, announced Thursday that “When We See You Again” will be published April 26.
“I sat down to write my pain, and out poured loss, suffering, love, mourning, devotion, grief, adoration and fracturedness,” Goldberg-Polin, a Chicago-born educator who now lives in Jerusalem, said in a statement. “This book recounts the first steps of a million-mile odyssey that will take the rest of my life to walk on shattered feet.”
Goldberg-Polin also will narrate the audio edition of “When We See You Again.”
Her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was attending a southern Israel music festival when militants loaded him and other hostages onto the back of a pickup truck. Rachel Goldberg-Polin and her husband, Jon, traveled the world calling for the release of Hersh and others, meeting with President Joe Biden and Pope Francis, speaking at the United Nations and appearing at protest rallies. Each morning, she would write down on a piece of masking tape the number of days her son had been in captivity and stick it on her chest.
She continued her efforts after Israeli officials announced in September 2024 that the bodies of her son and five others had been found in an underground tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli forensics experts said they had been shot at close range. Tens of thousands crowded into a Jerusalem cemetery as Hersh was laid to rest.
According to Random House, Rachel Goldberg-Polin will tell her story in “raw, unflinching, deeply moving prose.”
“She describes grief from within the midst of suffering, giving voice to the broken as she pours her pain, love, and longing onto the page,” announcement reads in part. “It is a story of how we remember and how we persevere, of how we suffer and how we love.”
