Jordan envoy takes up post

Jordan’s new ambassador to Israel Ghassan Majali arrived in Israel on Tuesday and presented a copy of his credentials to the Foreign Ministry.

Majali is replacing Walid Obeidat, who served for five years as Jordan’s envoy to Israel.

He is a member of a prominent family, and also served from 2013-2017 as ambassador to Spain.

His arrival comes a month after Israel’s new ambassador to Jordan Amir Weissbrod presented his credentials to King Abdullah II.

The exchange of the new ambassadors puts the formal diplomatic ties between the two countries back on track. A stabbing and shooting incident at the Israeli embassy compound in Amman over a year ago sent ties into a tailspin.

Weissbrod succeeded Einat Schlein, who the Jordanians demanded be replaced following the July 2017 incident where an embassy security official was attacked by a man wielding a screwdriver, and he responded by shooting and killing the assailant and a bystander.

The guard, Schlein and the embassy staff were returned home shortly afterward. The Jordanians were infuriated that they received a “hero’s welcome” from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Amman subsequently called for a trial and demanded that Israel pay compensation.

In August, after Majali’s appointment was announced in Amman, a number of Jordanian parliamentarians protested against appointing a new ambassador to Israel.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon posted a picture on Twitter of Majali at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday, writing: “Welcome Ambassador and lots of success!!!”