The Kingdom of Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel on Wednesday while telling the Israeli ambassador in their own country to leave.
The diplomatic row between the two countries is linked to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza following Hamas’s Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel. (RELATED: Hamas Threatens To Conduct Attack On Civilians In Israel ‘Again And Again’)
“The return of the ambassador will be linked to halting Israel’s war on Gaza and ending the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Israeli measures that deprive the Palestinians of their right to food, water, medicine, and their right to live … on their land,” said Arman Safadi, the Foreign Minister of Jordan, Anadolu Agency reported.
#BREAKING Jordan says it recalled its ambassador from Israel, refused to let Israeli envoy return to Amman ‘in condemnation of war on Gaza’ pic.twitter.com/veAXjYzpTl
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) November 1, 2023
“This war kills innocent people, causes an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, and risks an expansion (of the conflict), which will threaten the security of the entire region and international security and peace,” Safadi said, the Turkish outlet noted.
The State of Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have had formal diplomatic ties following the 1994 peace treaty. The treaty has not been popular among the Jordanian public, who have overwhelmingly opposed having any cooperative ties with Israel, the Washington Institute noted in 2023.
Jordan’s population, which was around 70% of Palestinian descent in 2019, is highly sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, the Guardian reported. On Oct. 18, 2023, riots broke out near the Israeli embassy in Jordan over the war, Reuters reported.
Jordan has traditionally recalled its ambassador during periods of high tension with Israel. According to the Times of Israel, Jordan did so in 2019 over the detention of two of its citizens by Israel over security concerns.
A 2023 American State Department document called Jordan “a major non-NATO ally” that has held “seven decades” of “strategic partnership” with the United States.