Israeli Security Asks Netanyahu to Change Policy Towards Jordan

Arab World

March 30th, 6:33am

Tel Aviv - Asharq Al-Awsat

Jordan’s King Abdullah and Crown Prince Hussein take part in a ceremony, in an area known as Naharayim in Hebrew and Baquora in Arabic, in the border area between Israel and Jordan, November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Jordanian Royal Palace.

A number of senior officials in the Israeli security apparatus asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change his policy towards Jordan, warning him that the escalating crisis with King Abdullah II was a mistake. “Jordan is a very important country in the region, and the policy it pursues provides stability and security,” security sources in Tel Aviv said. They added that Israel benefitted greatly from this policy, as the border between the two countries, which extends over 300 kilometers, was the safest. Amos Harel, military editor in Haaretz newspaper, wrote on Monday that the size of Jordanian forces deployed along the border was much larger than that of the Israeli army, adding that the Arab country exerted great efforts to prevent infiltration into Israel. The crisis exacerbated between Jordan and Israel after a series of incidents that started several months ago but mounted in recent weeks, following a decision by Tel Aviv to change the security procedures for the Jordanian Crown Prince’s visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque, which forced the latter to cancel the visit. In response, Jordan delayed a take-off permit for an Emirati plane that stopped at Amman Airport two weeks ago. The plane was scheduled to take Netanyahu to Abu Dhabi, on a visit that would last for several hours, which the Israeli premier wanted to use in favor of his electoral campaign. Netanyahu was forced to cancel the trip and was heard accusing the Jordanian monarch of disturbing him and of trying to interfere in the elections in favor of his rivals, especially as the king received Security Minister Benny Gantz in Amman. Harel noted that a number of officials in the Israeli security apparatus had reservations about Netanyahu’s approach towards Amman. They stressed that decisions including closing the airspace for flights from Jordan for a few hours and not responding to a Jordanian request to obtain Covid-19 vaccines were “personal steps of revenge” by Netanyahu against King Abdullah.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2889756/israeli-security-asks-netanyahu-change-policy-towards-jordan