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Newsline: Jordan to host foreign ministers’ talks on Syria’s return to Arab League
Jordan will host a meeting of Arab foreign ministers and Syria’s top diplomat on Monday to discuss Syria’s return to the Arab League as part of a broader political settlement of Syria’s more than decade-old conflict, officials said. The meeting, to be attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his counterparts from Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, would discuss a Jordanian plan to achieve a political settlement of the conflict, Jordanian government officials said. (https://neuters.de/world/middle-east/jordan-host-talks-syrias-return-arab-league-2023-04-30/) The meeting comes two weeks after talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between the Gulf Cooperation Council, as well as Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, failed to reach agreement on Syria’s possible return to the Arab fold. It is the first such meeting with a top Syrian official by a group of Arab states – most of whom endorsed the move to suspend Syria’s membership of the League in 2011. Arab states and those most affected by the conflict are trying to reach consensus on whether to invite Assad to the Arab League summit on May 19 in Riyadh, to discuss the pace of normalising ties with Assad and on what terms Syria could be allowed back. Officials said the Jordanian initiative calls on Damascus to engage with Arab governments collectively on a step-by-step road map to end the conflict.
Newsline: Jordan parliament recommends expulsion of Israeli ambassador
The parliament of Jordan has voted to recommend the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador to Amman from the country in protest against the behaviour of a minister in Israel’s far-right government, who stirred controversy earlier this week after he denied the existence of the Palestinian people. (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/22/jordan-parliament-votes-to-recommend-expelling-israeli-ambassador) During the legislative session, House of Representatives Speaker Ahmed al-Safadi called on the government to take action in response to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The incident led to an angry backlash and the Israeli ambassador in Amman was summoned by the Jordanian foreign ministry to register its objections. The governments of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates also issued statements condemning Smotrich’s words and actions.
Newsline: Jordan recalls ambassador to Israel to protest detentions
Jordan announced it was recalling its ambassador to Israel for consultations to protest Israel’s detention of a pair of Jordanians who have been held without charges for the past two months. Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi wrote on Twitter that Jordan was taking the step because of Israel’s refusal “to heed our legitimate demands” to release the pair. “We hold Israeli government responsible for the lives of our citizens whose health conditions have severely deteriorated in illegal arbitrary detention,” he said. “We will take all necessary legal & diplomatic measures to ensure their safe return home.” (https://news.yahoo.com/jordan-recalls-ambassador-israel-protest-210647512.html) The case has further soured what already is a tense relationship between the two countries, which marked the 25-year anniversary of their landmark peace agreement over the weekend. Israel’s Foreign Ministry said it was checking the Jordanian announcement with authorities in Amman.
Newsline: Malaysia to open embassy accredited to Palestine in Jordan
Malaysia will open an embassy accredited to Palestine to enable it to extend aid to the Palestinians more easily, says Dr Mahathir Mohamad. The Prime Minister said the embassy will be set up in Jordan. He was this when addressing leaders and representatives from 120 member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the 18th NAM summit here on Friday (Oct 25). “We know that Israel will not allow Malaysia to open an embassy in the Occupied Territory. As such, we will open the embassy in Jordan,” said Dr Mahathir. (https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/10/25/malaysia-to-open-embassy-accredited-to-palestine-in-jordan-says-dr-m) The 94-year-old prime minister said the opening of the accredited embassy would allow Malaysia to extend aid to the Palestinians more easily, although he acknowledged that Israel will find a way to ensure no aid reaches Palestine.
Newsline: Jordan Names Qatar Ambassador
Jordan appointed an ambassador to Qatar, in an apparent break from its benefactors in the Gulf who have imposed a boycott on the gas-rich nation. A royal decree appointed Zeid Al Louzi as the country’s ambassador to Qatar, according to the official Gazette. The move comes two years after Jordan reduced diplomatic representation following a Saudi-led campaign against Qatar. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-16/jordan-names-qatar-ambassador-two-years-after-saudi-led-boycott) Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties and closed transport routes with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of funding terrorism. Qatar denies the charge.
Newsline: Jordanian King Cancels Romania Trip Over PM’s Plan for Jerusalem Embassy
King Abdullah II of Jordan has cancelled his planned trip to Romania in response to the Romanian prime minister’s announcement that the country plans to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said during a speech before the AIPAC conference in Washington on Mar. 24 that her country intends to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. (https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/jordan/.premium-jordanian-king-cancels-romania-trip-over-pm-s-plan-for-jerusalem-embassy-1.7048618) The statement was strongly contradicted by the country’s president, who opposes the move and has a final say on foreign policy issues. President Klaus Iohannis called Dancila “ignorant” for making the statement, which had received strong applause from those attending the pro-Israeli conference.
Newsline: Jordanian charge d’affaires to reopen embassy in Syria
Diplomatic ties to be rekindled amid Arab world warming up to Assad again. A charge d’affaires has been sent to Damascus to start work again in Jordan’s embassy in the Syrian capital, the Jordanian foreign ministry announced. Although diplomatic ties were never severed, relations were strained between the two middle-eastern neighbors since Jordan recalled its ambassador in 2011 amid events leading to the Syrian civil war. Syria has since accused Jordan of supporting some rebels against the regime, while Jordan expelled the Syrian ambassador in 2014.
Newsline: Jordan allegedly withdraws ambassador from Iran
Jordan has allegedly withdrawn their ambassador to Iran, Saudi state-owned Al-Arabiya TV claimed this afternoon. Citing a senior Jordanian official, Al-Arabiya claimed ambassador ‘Abdallah Suleiman Abu Raman was transferred from Tehran to ‘Amman this week. “There is no intention of naming another Jordanian ambassador to Tehran at this moment,” the unnamed Jordanian official told Al-Arabiya. According to the Al-Arabiya source, the reason for the withdrawal is “Jordan’s firm stance on Iran’s policies that involve their interference in the affairs of regional countries.” The Al-Arabiya source stressed Iran’s specific policies against “the security of the countries in this region, especially Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.”
Newsline: Israeli ambassador to Jordan takes up his post, ending spat
Israel’s Foreign Ministry says its new ambassador to Jordan is starting his posting, ending a months-long spat between the two countries over a deadly embassy shooting. Amir Weissbrod’s posting ends one of the tensest periods between Israel and Jordan since the two signed a peace treaty in 1994. Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon says Weissbrod arrived in the capital, Amman, on Monday. The dispute began last summer when a security guard at the Israeli embassy in Jordan shot and killed two Jordanians, alleging one attacked him with a screw driver. The Israeli guard and Israel’s then-ambassador were given a hero’s welcome by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, infuriating Jordan. Earlier this year, the two sides said they found a way to overcome the crisis, including appointing a new Israeli ambassador.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/article208981574.html
Newsline: Jordan approves Israel’s new ambassador
Jordan has approved Amir Weissbrod as Israel’s new ambassador, Channel 10 reported. The approval came after the two countries agreed to end a diplomatic standoff following the shooting deaths of two Jordanians by an Israeli security guard who Israel said opened fire in self-defense after one of the men tried to stab him. The Foreign Ministry named Weissbrod as ambassador last month. A career diplomat who previously headed the Middle East Bureau at the Foreign Ministry’s Center for Political Research, Weissbrod is a fluent Arabic speaker who served as first secretary in Israel’s Jordanian embassy between 2001 and 2004. He has also served in Israel’s Liaison Bureau in Morocco.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/jordan-approves-israels-new-ambassador-to-the-kingdom/
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