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Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) - King Abdullah II on Monday received chief of Hamas Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal and threw his weight behind achieving the Palestinian reconciliation as the basis to enhancing the unity of the Palestinian people and enabling them to secure their legitimate rights.

The King stressed that the recent UN recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state was a milestone on the way to restore the Palestinian people's rights, especially the establishment of their independent state on the national soil.

King Abdullah noted a series of meetings he recently held with a number of peace process regional and international stakeholders to urge them exert efforts to re-launch negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis, put an end to the impasse and set a clear time frame for achieving a two-state solution, which is the only way to security and stability in the region.

Jordan, the King affirmed, will continue to perform its duty towards Palestinian people to alleviate their suffering.

For his part, Meshaal valued the efforts exerted by King Abdullah to support the steadfastness of the Palestinian people, noting the services provided by the Jordanian military field hospital in the Gaza Strip.

He reiterated Hamas's keenness to bolster the unity and solidarity of the Palestinian people and their cause. Hamas, he affirmed, categorically rejects the alternative homeland idea and affirms the right of Palestinians to regain their full rights.

The meeting was attended by HRH Prince Ali bin Al Hussein, Director of King's Office Imad Fakhoury and Meshaal accompanying delegation.

In remarks to reporters following the talks, Meshaal said that the main issue in the meeting was the Palestinian cause and its future, especially after the Israeli and the U.S. elections and in light of the current stalemate in the peace process. He added that the meeting also addressed the reconciliation efforts and various regional developments.

Meshaal said he was optimist towards the Palestinian reconciliation, stressing the role Jordan plays under the leadership of His Majesty the King to achieve this goal.

"The international community should respect the Palestinians' need to end the division," he said.

The top Hamas figure affirmed that "talking about the confederation with Jordan before the establishment of a Palestinian state is unacceptable."