New low point in relations between Israel and Jordan: Amman has recalled his ambassador to protest the imprisonment of two Jordanians in Israel. At the same time, an Israeli citizen is being held in Jordan, who yesterday illegally crossed the border into Jordan.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ajman al-Safadi yesterday called for the immediate release of Jordanian citizen Hiba al-Labadi and Jordanian Abdul Rahman Miri. Both have been held incommunicado for months in Israel. „We have decided to recall our Ambassador in Tel Aviv as a first step to consultations,“ Safadi said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has not yet commented.
Arrested at border crossing
Labadi was reported to have been arrested on the Israeli-Jordanian border in August when she wanted to travel to a family celebration in the West Bank. The woman with Palestinian roots has been on a hunger strike for more than a month and has already been taken to hospital.
According to the media, Labadi is accused by the Israeli intelligence service of having had contact with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The young woman had intended to recruit in the West Bank agents for the Israel hostile organization.
She rejects the allegations. Labadis lawyer told Israeli newspaper Haaretz that during a visit to her sister in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, she met only a moderator of a Hizbollah-affiliated broadcaster.
Last crisis settled only last year
Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty 25 years ago. Nevertheless, there are always diplomatic tensions between the two countries. In the summer of 2017, an Israeli security guard shot dead two Jordanians at the embassy site in Amman following an attack. Israel then closed the embassy and removed his ambassador. Last year, the crisis was resolved.
