The House of Representatives (parliament) of Jordan has voted to expel the Israeli ambassador to Amman, the Petra news agency reported on Wednesday.
The parliamentarians are recommending the kingdom's government to expel the Israeli ambassador from Jordan, it said. The decision was taken because of the map of Israel which was placed on the rostrum during a speech by Jewish Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the governing coalition Religious Zionism party. This map included the territory of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Palestinian regions.
Jordanian parliamentarians described Smotrich's actions as evidence of an "arrogant attitude" on the part of the Israeli establishment, which "does not honor any international agreements."
In addition to showing a map of Israel that includes Jordan, Smotrich said during his speech at a private Jewish community event in Paris on March 19 that there is no Palestinian people and that only Jews should be considered the only true Palestinians.
On Tuesday, Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi issued a strong condemnation of the incendiary and racist remarks made by the Israeli finance minister. He noted that Israeli officials have assured Amman that Smotrich's remarks do not express the position of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu. Nevertheless, if such provocations continue, al-Safadi pointed out, Jordan will retaliate.
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Based on materials from TASS