Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday over a canceled visit to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount by Crown Prince Jordan Hussein.
Safadi confirmed that Jordan has suspended the granting of flyover permission to Netanyahu in retaliation, causing him to postpone a planned visit to the United Arab Emirates.
The diplomatic dispute highlighted Jordan’s frustrations with Netanyahu and tensions between the two neighbors that have been simmering for years.
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Speaking to CNN on Friday, Safadi was asked whether Netanyahu was correct in blaming the “difficulties” with Jordan in coordinating the flyover by postponing his visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday.
“Do you deny an agreement with Jordan, do you interrupt a religious visit, do you create conditions that make this religious visit on a sacred occasion impossible and then you hope to come to Jordan and fly out of Jordan? Let’s be serious here, ”said Safadi.
Hussein had been scheduled to visit Temple Mount on Wednesday for Lailat al-Miʿraj, a holiday that marks the journey undertaken by Prophet Muhammad. Safadi accused Israel of violating an agreement on preparations for the visit, while Israel said that Hussein arrived with more security than promised.
“You interrupt a religious visit, you create conditions that make this religious visit impossible on a sacred occasion, and then you hope to come to the Jordan and fly out of the Jordan – let’s be serious here.” @AymanHsafadi about Israel blaming Jordan for the canceled PM’s trip to the United Arab Emirates. pic.twitter.com/yLDp3O7vhQ
– Connect the world (@CNNConnect) March 12, 2021
“A religious visit for worship on an extremely sacred occasion was interrupted by Israeli measures that we do not understand and do not accept,” said Safadi in the interview.
“At the last minute, Israel reneged on these agreements, violated its obligations as an occupying power and also violated the right to freedom of worship, so we are extremely dissatisfied and angry about it.”
Under its 1994 peace treaty, Israel recognizes Jordan as guardian of the Temple Mount, which houses the Al-Aqsa Mosque. The Temple Mount is the holiest place in Judaism and the site of the third holiest sanctuary in Islam.
Israel captured the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Six-Day War. However, it allowed the Jordanian Waqf to continue to maintain religious authority at the top of the mountain, where Jews can visit, but not pray.
Safadi’s latest criticism came a day after he said the Israelis unilaterally wanted to place restrictions on the royal visit and appeared to blame the fight in the upcoming Israeli elections, in statements apparently addressed to Netanyahu.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi at a press conference in Berlin on March 10, 2021. (Kay Nietfeld / Pool / AFP)
Israel contested Safadi’s report, with officials quoted by public broadcaster Kan saying the prince’s security delegation that reached the border was larger and more heavily armed than agreed. The report said that when Israeli officials insisted that Jordanians comply with the terms of the agreement, Hussein canceled the visit.
Netanyahu said that Israel arranged things with Jordan and would visit the United Arab Emirates soon.
The prime minister had an appointment with the Crown Prince of the Emirates on his first official visit to the United Arab Emirates since Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi established diplomatic relations last year.
Although no alternative date for the trip has been given, Channel 12 News said in a report without sources on Friday that Netanyahu will travel to the United Arab Emirates this week.
The network also said the United States had told the United Arab Emirates to cut Netanyahu’s trip, before it was canceled, due to concerns about interfering in the March 23 elections in Israel. The planned visit was reduced to a short stay at the airport, the report said.
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at a meeting at the White House in Washington, May 15, 2017. (Andrew Harnik / AP)
Separately, a report without Channel 13 sources said that Netanyahu wanted to sign a peace treaty with Sudan while in Abu Dhabi, but the United States told the United Arab Emirates that hosting such a ceremony would represent electoral interference.
Hebrew media reports on Wednesday suggested that Netanyahu also hoped to meet with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and / or Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during the trip, which was scheduled to take place 12 days before Israel holds its fourth national election in two years.
Netanyahu has been seen as looking forward to making the trip ahead of the March 23 elections.
Research shows that the prime minister is struggling to regain a majority of 61 seats in the Knesset that would allow him to form a coalition, although his rivals also lack a clear path to power, and the timing of the trip could have spurred Netanyahu’s campaign.
The trip was expected to be a celebration of Israel’s normalization agreements, as well as a move to increase Netanyahu’s diplomatic credentials before the elections. Netanyahu may also have hoped to use the visit to consolidate a campaign against the US’s return to the nuclear deal with Iran.
The trip to the United Arab Emirates was planned several months ago, but has been postponed several times. Netanyahu had originally been scheduled to make the trip in November, then in December and then in January and February, but the pandemic, scheduling problems and internal political crises led to repeated delays.
Emirati officials told the news website Walla on Wednesday that there were concerns that the visit could be seen as an intervention in the Israeli elections, but in the end Abu Dhabi reluctantly agreed to the trip.
On Friday, Israel approved the entry of 700 Jordanians to work in the hotel industry in Eilat and slightly eased restrictions on border crossings with Jordan and Egypt.
