Move to repair ‘all-time low’ relationship with Jordan
V IN THE wake of remarks by Jordan’s King Abdullah that relations with Israel are at “an all-time low”, President Reuven Rivlin met a senior advisor to the king and may visit Amman soon as well.
During his short trip to London last week, the Israeli president met Prince Ghazi bin Mohammed, a member of the Hashemite royal family and King Abdullah’s advisor on religious affairs.
Mr Rivlin has been leading a project to restore archaeological sites, including ancient monasteries near the Jordan river, and the meeting was ostensibly to discuss this.
But diplomatic sources said they discussed a wider range of issues regarding the ties between the two countries. One immediate result of the meeting was the announcement early this week that a site identified as “Aaron’s Tomb” in southern Jordan, where groups of Orthodox Jews often travel to pray, has been reopened to Israelis after being closed to them last August.
Jordan recently recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv in protest over the arrests of two Jordanian citizens, since released, on suspicion of espionage and aiding terror organisations. This came along with the decision of Jordan to end the 25-year lease to Israeli farmers of agricultural areas within its territory near the border. It was the only official recognition of the 25th anniversary of the peace treaty between the two countries.
Two weeks ago, at an event in New York, King Abdullah said that “the
Jordanian-Israeli relationship is at an all-time low”, blaming among other things “Israeli domestic matters” and the inability to talk “to each other on simple issues.”
While the king did not specify any clear cause, it is known that he has been disturbed by the recent election promises made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding plans to annex the Jordan Valley to Israel. This annexation of part of the West Bank by Jordan’s own border would be a highly symbolic move that some senior diplomat believe could even lead to ties being officially broken off.
The relationship with Jordan can be deceptive. While on the surface it has deteriorated, this is partly at least due to the King’s need to be seen on the side of the Palestinian cause, considering his country’s large population of Palestinian-Jordanians and the general absence of support for Israel among the public in the kingdom.
At the same time, security cooperation between the two countries, not often discussed, is at an all-time high. The intelligence services of both countries work closely together on combatting both Isis and Iranian influence in the region.
Israel has supplied Cobra combat helicopters to the Jordanian air-force and, in a recent international exercise, Jordanian aircraft were observed at Uvda airbase in southern Israel — although they were not officially partners in the exercise.