Jordan FM lashes out as Israel moves to repair relationship

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to minimize the incident on Saturday night.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi blamed Israel for the diplomatic tensions between the countries, as Israel moved to lower the flames.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to minimize the incident on Saturday night.

“There was a mishap with the Jordanians, because of a visit – the lack of a visit of the Crown Prince on the Temple Mount, but it was worked out,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Channel 13.

The remarks came two days after Jordan blocked Netanyahu’s planned flight to the United Arab Emirates from entering its airspace. Within several hours, the Prime Minister’s Office said Jordan was willing to allow the flight to enter its airspace, but Netanyahu and UAE leader Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had already agreed to postpone the prime minister’s visit.

Netanyahu said on Saturday that another UAE visit will happen “soon; it won’t take months.”

Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah had planned to visit the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount on Wednesday, on the occasion of Isra’ and Mi’raj, the Islamic holiday marking the prophet Mohammed’s journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and then to heaven. The visit had been coordinated with Israel, but the prince arrived at the Israeli border with more armed guards than had been agreed on, according to the Israeli side. The Jordanians argue that Israel changed its conditions for the visit. The additional guards were not permitted to enter Israel, and Hussein canceled his visit.

On Friday, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Israel would allow the return of 700 Jordanian workers to hotels in Eilat, after COVID-19 restrictions left them outside the country. The Jordanian workers will have to undergo coronavirus tests upon entry and quarantine according to the Health Ministry’s instructions.

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Israel will also begin to allow diplomats to enter the country from Jordan, through the Allenby Crossing, and from Egypt, through the Taba crossing.

“Israel is interested in a positive and productive relationship with Jordan,” a senior official said about the Prime Minister’s Office announcement of the goodwill steps.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi, however, placed the onus for the diplomatic dispute on Israel in an interview with CNN.

“What happened simply is that his royal highness wanted to say his prayers at Al-Aksa mosque on the holy occasion for Muslims…It was a religious visit to Al-Aksa and some of the churches in Jerusalem as well,” he said. “We had made arrangements with Israel in regards to getting to Al Aksa, last minute Israel reneged on those agreements…and they also violated the freedom of worship.”

Safadi said Jordan was “unhappy and angry” about the incident, and that the prince’s “religious visit for worship…was disrupted by Israeli measures that we do not understand and do not accept.”

Asked why Jordan blocked Netanyahu from flying to the UAE, and foreign minister said: “When you renege on an agreement with Jordan, you disrupt a religious visit…then you expect to come to Jordan and fly out of Jordan? Let’s be serious here…This should really be addressed to Israel as to why.”

Netanyahu had not planned to fly out of Jordan; rather, his flight would have crossed over Jordanian airspace.