Neither side issued a statement on the summoning of Ambassador Eitan Surkis Monday night, but an official familiar with the matter confirmed the escalation of the diplomatic spat to The Times of Israel.
The move came hours after the Foreign Ministry sought to tamp down the backlash to by Smotrich’s Sunday speech. “Israel is committed to the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan. There has been no change in the position of the State of Israel, which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom,” the ministry tweeted in both Hebrew and English. It did not mention Smotrich’s remarks about the Palestinians.
Later Tuesday night, National Security Council chairman Tzachi Hanegbi phoned Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to offer a similar assurance regarding Israel’s commitment to its peace with Jordan.
He appeared to downplay Smotrich’s conduct, tweeting that he called Safadi “after the storm caused by the publishing of a picture of Israel’s Minister of Finance next to a map of the Land of Israel which included the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.” READ MORE
