King Abdullah of Jordan visits West Bank (VIDEO)

Jordan's King Abdullah made a rare visit to the West Bank on Monday, meeting in Ramallah with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who plans to renew reconciliation talks between rival political factions between the Fatah and Hamas.

King Abdullah, who has not visited the West Bank in more than a decade — he visited the West Bank in 2000 to meet with Yasser Arafat, Abbas' late predecessor — traveled the short distance from Amman to Ramallah via helicopter and arrived to a red carpet welcome at Abbas's presidential compound, CNN reported.

A Jordanian palace official, meantime, told Reuters that:

"The visit comes in the context of Jordan's support for the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian people to achieve Palestinian national rights and an independent state." 

The Jordanian monarch urged the Palestinian leader to resume direct peace negotiations with Israel, Reuters reported.

However, Abbas said after the meeting that that there were no signs negotiations with Israel will be resumed in the near future.

He said that he would resume negotiations if Israel "halts settlement activities and abides by international resolutions," adding that his demands were not preconditions but rather obligations based on agreements between the two sides, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

The visit also comes at a time when both leaders are making outreach efforts to the political leadership of Hamas, the Islamist Hamas movement that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, when it ousted the Palestinian Authority government.

Abbas, who also serves as the head of the Fatah political faction, is scheduled to meet with Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal in Cairo to renew efforts at political reconciliation between the rival parties, according to CNN.

CNN adds that:

Both Israel and the United States have expressed opposition to the formation of any Palestinian unity deal that includes Hamas which both countries consider a terrorist organization.