Jordan’s Parliament Votes To Expel Israeli Envoy Amid Tension
The vote continues the fallout from far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s speech in Paris while standing behind a podium with a map showing 'Greater Israel,' with borders including the Hashemite Kingdom and West Bank land
Fallout from a speech by Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at an event in Paris this week while standing behind a podium decorated with a map showing ‘Greater Israel’ with borders including the Hashemite Kingdom and West Bank land continues to escalate. Jordan’s parliament on Wednesday voted almost unanimously to expel Israel’s ambassador to Amman. The nonbinding vote urges the Jordanian government to take “effective measures” against Smotrich’s statements and behavior – including the expulsion of ambassador Eitan Surkis.
Dr. Oded Eran, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, and former ambassador of Israel to Jordan, told The Media Line that this latest incident between the two countries is “damaging to the relationship.”
Israel’s far right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich speaks a private memorial service for Likud activist and Jewish Agency board member Jacques Kupfer on March 19, behind a podium displaying a map of Israel that includes the West Bank and Jordan as part of its boundaries. (Twitter)
“I think it’s very regretful that relations between the two states have deteriorated and is a serious damage to the interests of the two states,” Eran said.
In a speech in Paris on Sunday, Smotrich denied the existence of the Palestinian people, saying the Palestinians were “an invention” from the last century and that people like himself and his grandparents – including his 13th-generation Jerusalemite grandfather, are the “real Palestinians.” He also used a map of Israel during the speech which showed sovereign Jordanian and Palestinian territory as being inside Israel’s borders.
In a statement, Jordanian Parliament Speaker Ahmad al-Safadi called on the government “to take effective measures” over the use of a map of Israel that included sovereign Jordanian and Palestinian territory. “This constitutes a violation of the peace treaty and international norms,” he added.
The Israeli government should make clear at the highest possible political level that there’s no intention in Israel to change the status quo in the political structure in Jordan
Following the parliament’s proposal, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Tawfiq Krishan said that the fallout from the incident has united Jordanians.
“The map of Jordan is drawn only by Jordanians,” Krishan said.
Jordan had previously demanded that the Israeli government take a “clear stance” and summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman to voice its rejection of what it described as a “racist speech.”
“The Israeli government should make clear at the highest possible political level that there’s no intention in Israel to change the status quo in the political structure in Jordan. We are committed to the Hashemite Kingdom and it is stipulated in the peace treaty,” according to Eran.
The proposal to expel Israeli Ambassador Eitan Surkis requires the approval of the government to be effective.
On Monday, Jordanian officials said Israel’s national security adviser had told them that Israel respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbor.
Observers says there is a serious danger that the interests of the two states will be damaged by this process.
“It’s the responsibility of the two governments to call for calm and a rational relationship and for efforts to reduce the tensions,” said Eran.
Jordan was the second Arab country to normalize relations with Israel, but those relations have been tested.
The two countries signed the Wadi Araba peace treaty in 1994, which brought an end to the state of war between the two countries since the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948.
The former ambassador says that both Israel and Jordan “benefit from the peace treaty.”
