Amman — Jordan on Wednesday announced it had recalled its ambassador from Israel and told the Israeli ambassador to stay away in protest at the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, saying the attacks had killed civilians and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
The ambassador would only return to Tel Aviv if Israel halted its war on the enclave and ended “the humanitarian crisis it has caused”, foreign minister Ayman Safadi said.
“This is to express Jordan’s stance that rejects and condemns the Israeli war on Gaza that kills innocents and is causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe,” Safadi said in a statement carried on state media.
Jordan, which borders Israel to the east, has had a peace agreement with Tel Aviv since 1994.
Safadi said the decision was also taken because Israel was depriving Palestinians of food, water and medicines after it imposed a siege on the enclave following a devastating assault by Hamas on Israel on October 7.
Israel’s ambassador in Jordan, who left two weeks ago amid protests, would only be allowed to return on the same conditions, the minister said.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken will travel to Israel and Jordan on Friday, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said late on Wednesday, adding that Blinken will meet with leaders of the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for an update on their military objectives.
Jordan was stepping up diplomatic efforts to pressure Israel to end the war, which brought “dangerous risks” of conflict spreading across the region and threatening global peace, Safadi said.
Many Jordanians, in a country where pro-Palestinian sentiment is widespread, have staged protests calling on the authorities to close the Israeli embassy and scrap the unpopular 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.
Also on Wednesday, Argentina joined condemnation of Israel’s attacks in Gaza. Argentina is home to Latin America’s largest Jewish community.
“Nothing justifies the violation of international humanitarian law,” the Argentinian foreign ministry said in a statement, in which it also called for the release of Israeli hostages captured by Palestinian Hamas militants.
The statement comes a day after neighbouring South American nation Bolivia cut diplomatic ties with Israel, while Colombia and Chile recalled their ambassadors.
The three South American nations lambasted Israel’s attacks on Gaza and condemned the deaths of Palestinian citizens.
Bolivia “decided to break diplomatic relations with the Israeli state in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive taking place in the Gaza Strip”, deputy foreign minister Freddy Mamani said at a press conference.
Israel accused Bolivia of “capitulation to terrorism and to the ayatollah regime in Iran”.
The three countries also called for a ceasefire, with Bolivia and Chile pushing for the passage of humanitarian aid into the zone and accusing Israel of violating international law.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the attacks a “massacre of the Palestinian people” in a post on the social media network X, formerly known as Twitter.
Other Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, have also called for a ceasefire.
“What we have now is the insanity of Israel’s prime minister, who wants to wipe out the Gaza Strip,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Friday.
Gaza health authorities say that 8,525 people, including 3,542 children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, when 1,400 Israelis were killed by Hamas militants.
UN officials say more than 1.4-million of Gaza’s civilian population of about 2.3-million have been made homeless. The Israel military has accused Iran-backed Hamas, which rules the narrow coastal territory, of using civilian buildings as cover for fighters, commanders and weaponry, accusations it denies.
Reuters
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