Jordan willing to escalate to get back its citizens detained by Israel
Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv in protest against the ongoing administrative detention of two of its nationals, threatening to take further escalatory steps.
Israel has handed over two Jordanian nationals on Nov. 6, which it had held in administrative detention for months, ending a diplomatic crisis between the two countries. In what is seen as a triumph for Jordanian diplomacy, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi announced on Nov. 4 that the two Jordanians, Heba Labadi and Abdulrahman Meri, would be handed over to the kingdom before the end of the week.
On the same day, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu confirmed that the two Jordanians would be released, adding, “Israel views the relationship between Jordan and Israel as a cornerstone of regional stability and will continue to act to ensure the region's security.”
Haaretz newspaper, which reported the news, added that Israel’s National Security Council chief Meir Ben Shabbat and Shin Bet head Nadav Argaman were behind the political and security negotiations to form the deal.
That deal comes a week after Jordan announced Oct. 29 that it was recalling its ambassador in Tel Aviv, Ghassan al-Majali, in protest of the administrative detention of the two Jordanian nationals by the Israeli authorities. Labadi, 24, was arrested on Aug. 20 while crossing the King Hussein Bridge with her mother to visit relatives in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Meri, 28, was also arrested while crossing into the West Bank on Sept. 2. The latest crisis takes place as the two countries fail to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty.
