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Jordan returns ambassador to Israel after Temple Mount tensions ease
Following a three-month absence, Jordan’s Ambassador to Israel, Walid Obeidat returned to his Tel Aviv embassy yesterday. He had been recalled to Amman over tensions at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Obeidat returned to Jordan in November after Israel temporarily closed the Temple Mount to worshippers over fears of further violence following the attempted assassination of an activist advocating greater Jewish prayer rights at the holy site. Although the Temple Mount was quickly reopened and Israeli leaders consistently publicly denied that they intend to alter the status quo there, Jordan accused Israel of “violations” and recalled Obeidat.
However, it was announced yesterday by Jordan’s Information Minister Mohammad al-Momani that Obeidat would return to his post. Al-Momani said that, “We noticed in the last period a significant improvement … with numbers of worshipers [At the Temple Mount] reaching unprecedented levels.” It is also thought that Jordan objected to high-profile visits to the Temple Mount by right-wing Knesset members, which have reduced during the past several months.
In response to the Jordanian announcement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “This is an important decision that reflects the shared interests of Israel and Jordan, chief among them being stability, security and peace.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry described Obeidat’s return as “important for the bilateral relations between Israel and Jordan and regional stability.” According to Haaretz, a senior Israeli official also confirmed that Jordan has given its permission for Einat Shlain to replace Dani Nevo as Israel’s ambassador in Amman later this year.
Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement in 1994, which among many stipulations recognised the Jordanian monarch’s custodianship over the Temple Mount holy sites. Since then, bilateral relations have been largely smooth, including a degree of economic and development cooperation between the two countries. It is also widely thought that Israel and Jordan work together to combat the threat of ISIS which is strong in parts of Syria, bordering both countries.