RAMALLAH, West Bank — Jordan's king visited the West Bank on Thursday in a show of support for Palestinians stung by Israel's decision to expand settlements after their successful bid for de facto UN 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 UN 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 UN Security Council, where Israel's main ally, the United States, has veto power. Some Israeli analysts have speculated the announcement of the project is no more than a bid to solidify Netanyahu's right-wing support in the run-up to a Jan. 22 parliamentary election. “We shall act further based on what the Palestinians do. If they don't act unilaterally, then we won't have any purpose to do so either,” said Netanyahu, whose right-wing Likud party is favored to win the ballot. Faced with a possible US veto in the Security Council, Palestinians may pursue a non-binding statement by the UN's top body, which diplomats said could prove less divisive and objectionable to the Americans. The Palestinians have dispatched their UN envoy Riyad Mansour to Qatar, which has pledged to cover their bills while Israel withholds $200 million in tax revenues the West Bank government needs to keep running. After the Palestinians won the vote on UN recognition, Israel announced it would hold back duties it collects on behalf of the Palestinians. It said the money would be used to cover their debts to Israeli companies. An Arab League meeting set for the weekend in the Qatari capital is expected to weigh the consequences of further diplomatic moves. — Reuters
