When Israeli intelligence officers were unable to produce any evidence of terror connections for two Jordanian citizens arrested upon trying to visit their relatives in the West Bank, they did what has become routine.

Hiba Labadi and Abdel Rahman Miri were detained Aug. 20 and Sept. 2, respectively, and later placed under administrative detention. Based on the 1945 British Defense Emergency Regulations, administrative detention is routinely used on Palestinians, with over 413 being held without charge or trial as of August, according to official Israeli reports.

Israel apparently didn’t expect the Jordanian public to push so heavily for their release, including a heavy social media campaign. Israel also clearly didn’t expect the Jordanian government to take the unusual diplomatic measure of recalling its ambassador for consultation.

Israeli officials have called their government’s ties with Jordan “a cornerstone of regional stability.” The diplomatic row that climaxed Oct. 27 with the recalling of ambassador Ghassan Majali forced the Israelis to reconsider the continued detention of the Jordanians, one of whom — Labadi — was on a month-long hunger strike.