Israel President meets Jordanian king to cultivate ties

JERUSALEM (AP) — The new Israeli president has met with the Jordanian king in a new sign of improved relations between the two countries. President Isaac Herzog’s office said Saturday that he met King Abdullah II at his palace in the Jordanian capital, Amman, over this past week. The two discussed a series of political and economic issues including energy and sustainability. The meeting came less than two months after Abdullah II and the new Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met in secret following years of fraught relations under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In the week following, Jordan and Israel signed two breakthrough water and trade deals.