Jordanian House of Representatives Calls for Expulsion of Israeli Envoy Over Minister’s Comments
The Jordanian House of Representatives voted on Wednesday morning in favor of a motion to expel Israel’s ambassador, Eitan Surkis, following comments made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionism party and a senior member of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition government, had publicly denied the existence of the Palestinian people and erased the Hashemite Kingdom during a speech in Paris.
Smotrich had made the comments at a podium decorated with a map of Israel, which included Jordan and the West Bank as part of its borders.
Jordan’s Prince Hassan bin Talal called the comments “a violation of laws and morals,” and the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said they were “racist and extremist behavior that violates international norms and the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.”
Earlier, Jordan had summoned Israel’s ambassador for a formal protest over Smotrich’s comments. The United Arab Emirates and nongovernmental organization Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development also condemned Smotrich’s remarks.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry responded on the Twitter platform that “Israel is committed to the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan. There has been no change in the position of the State of Israel, which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.”
Israel is committed to the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan. There has been no change in the position of the State of Israel, which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
— Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) March 21, 2023
The Media Line’s Daoud Kuttab covers the background to the latest diplomatic kerfluffle between Amman and Jerusalem here and bureau chief Mohammad Al-Kassim updates the story with the latest developments here.
