A diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity told the French news agency that the two heads discussed ways to renew peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Prime Minister’s office did not confirm or deny the report.

Netanyahu’s visit to Jordan, comes a week after violence and protests against Israel in the West Bank were set off, sparked by the death of Jaradat, 30. The PA blamed Israel, saying Jaradat was tortured to death.

The last meeting between the two reportedly took place in a few months ago, when Netanyahu traveled to Amman to discuss Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons.

Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been frozen since 2010, over Israel’s illegal settlement activities.

The Palestinians demand a settlement freeze as a precondition for talks, while Israel has called for immediate talks with no preconditions.

The latest talks between Netanyahu and Abdullah come ahead of an expected visit by US President Barack Obama.

It will be Obama’s first visit to Israel since taking office in January 2009.

The Tel Aviv regime has increased its illegal settlement expansion following an upgrade of Palestine’s status at the UN to a non-member observer state in November.

The Israeli regime plans to build more than 5,000 new settlements in East al-Quds despite objections from the international community.

Much of the international community considers the settlements illegal.

Israel’s governing Likud Party approved teaming up with Yisrael Beiteinu’s party. The coalition created a militant bloc that appears able to win the parliamentary elections in January.

Israel has weathered the global economic crisis, but economic and security challenges remain, and the ultra-nationalist party seems to be the answer to a stronger political management of the country.

As Fox news reported, the idea to join Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party with Yisrael Beitenu, headed by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, was accepted on Monday evening at a meeting of Likud activists.

“I came here today to ask you to vote for a strong Likud, a strong prime minister, a strong government and a strong Israel,” Netanyahu stated. “I believe that at this time it is crucial that the national camp join forces, and that is the reason why I asked Avigdor Lieberman to run on a joint list with the Likud,” he said.

The move, announced last week, has been criticized by some members of the Likud, who worried that the partnership would bend their party toward the secular right, but Netanyahu was greeted with loud applause as he addressed the gathering.

Avraham Diskin, a Hebrew University political scientist, said to Fox news the move could backfire on Netanyahu by making him appear more as a hard-liner, and alienating some of the Likud’s traditional supporters: “It will definitely be perceived at least as being more right wing than it traditionally has been. Netanyahu this term did his best to be more centrist than hawkish,” he claimed.

Diskin said religious Jewish voters of Middle Eastern background might turn to other alternatives because of Yisrael Beitenu’s reputation as a party dominated by fiercely secular immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Lieberman, himself an immigrant from Moldova, has fought to bring civil marriage to Israel, an idea opposed by the religious establishment.

It is expected that religious voters will turn to smaller, religious parties, while Likud centrists might leave, and join more moderate parties because of Lieberman’s dominant position.

In his speech, Netanyahu promised that Likud would not change its platform and would remain true to its ideals of preserving the Land of Israel’s security.

The event has raised speculation that centrist parties may also band together as a bloc in response to the ultra-nationalist danger;  the TNS/Teleseker poll of 500 people, conducted for the Maariv newspaper, gave the merged party 43 of parliament’s 120 seats. Ultra-Orthodox parties that traditionally align with Likud would win 24, potentially handing Netanyahu a comfortable hard-line majority of 67 seats.

The visit is “an opportunity to express the EU’s longstanding commitment to a negotiated solution for the Middle East Peace Process that guarantees a just and lasting settlement of the conflict”.

“The visit will also offer an occasion to discuss with both Israeli and Palestinian leaders the situation in the region, notably the transitions taking place in the Arab world, the situation in Syria and Iran,” the statement added.

On Sunday, President Barroso will be visiting the occupied Palestinian territory and will be holding meetings with President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad.

On Monday, President Barroso will meet Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and the Speaker of the Knesset MK Reuven Rivlin and will participate in an official dinner hosted by President Shimon Peres.

Barroso, who is president of the European Commission, arrives from Cyprus to Israel and the occupied territories, in a first visit since taking the helm of the EU executive in 2004, his office said.

The EU has condemned Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

The EU is the largest donor to the Palestinian Authority contributing with over half of total international financial assistance.

Last month, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged the Israeli government to demonstrate its commitment to peace by reversing plans to build new settlements inside the West Bank and close to East Jerusalem.