Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United Arab Emirates was canceled on Thursday, amid a diplomatic crisis with Jordan, and because Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, is hospitalized with appendicitis.
“These difficulties apparently come from canceling the Crown Prince of Jordan’s visit to Temple Mount after a dispute over security measures there,” said the PMO.
At midday on Thursday, Jordan was willing to allow the flight to enter its airspace, but Netanyahu and the leader of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, had already agreed to postpone the Prime Minister’s visit for the fourth time since Israel and the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic relations in August.
Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah planned to visit al-Aqsa’s mosque on Temple Mount on Wednesday after coordinating with Israel on his safety.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi said that “at the last minute, Israel wanted to impose new things and change plans to limit Muslims [visiting the Temple Mount]… The Crown Prince canceled his visit out of respect for the faithful.
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“The al-Aqsa mosque and its entire territory are places of worship for Muslims,” said Safadi of Judaism’s most sacred site. “There is no Israeli sovereignty over this. It is in occupied Jerusalem. We will not accept any Israeli intervention in its affairs. “
Jordan occupied part of Jerusalem, including the Old City, from 1949 to 1967, not allowing Jewish worshipers to access sacred sites. Israel opened the Old City, including the Temple Mount and the Wailing Wall, to visitors of all religions in 1967 and extended its sovereignty over all of Jerusalem in 1980.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz said at a meeting with heads of regional councils on Wednesday that Netanyahu’s bad relationship with the king of Jordan, Abdullah, is “the failure of the Netanyahu government for all its 15 years” .
“The strategic break in relations between Israel and Jordan is precisely because of Netanyahu,” he said.
Israeli-Jordanian ties were tense during Netanyahu’s tenure, but have warmed up a little lately. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi met three times with his Jordanian counterpart Safadi, and Gantz reportedly met with the king of Jordan, Abdullah.
Netanyahu’s trip to the United Arab Emirates was supposed to be the first since the announcement of the Abraham Accords in August, marking peace and normalization between the Gulf state and Israel.
On Thursday, Netanyahu considered canceling his trip to the United Arab Emirates after his wife, Sarah Netanyahu, was hospitalized with appendicitis.
Sarah Netanyahu felt ill on Wednesday night and went to Hadassah-University Medical Center at Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, where she was diagnosed with appendicitis, and will remain in the hospital for several days. Netanyahu accompanied his wife to the hospital.
The prime minister planned to meet Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Emirates capital airport for a two-hour visit.
Israeli, emirate and Saudi officials worked on a possible secret meeting between Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his brief trip to the United Arab Emirates.
“MBS is ready to find Bibi,” said a well-positioned source in the Emirates.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, but ties between countries have been increasingly hot, especially in cooperation against Iran, their common opponent. Netanyahu and MBS, as the Saudi prince is known, met in November in the smart Saudi city of Neom, although neither officially confirmed it.
Asked about meeting with MBS on Tuesday, Netanyahu joked: “What is it like to ask questions that you know you will not receive an answer to?”
The trip to the United Arab Emirates was scheduled to take place less than two weeks before the March 23 election, despite reports that officials in the Emirates were hesitant to host Netanyahu on a date that would be considered political.
The source in Abu Dhabi confirmed that the election was a consideration, but the UAE leadership decided to welcome Netanyahu regardless of the date.
Speaking last month about a planned visit to the United Arab Emirates, the prime minister said: “It is of great security, of national and international importance.”
Netanyahu also plans to meet with the prime ministers of Hungary and the Czech Republic in Jerusalem on Thursday night, to discuss cooperation in the production of the COVID-19 vaccine.