Netanyahu's crisis with Jordan may lead to unrest at the border, analyst warns

March 30, 2021 at 3:58 pm | Published in:  Middle East Monitor

March 30, 2021 at 3:58 pm

Rising political tensions between Jordan and Israel could translate to instability at their shared border, Haaretz newspaper's military analyst Amos Harel warned on Sunday.

The analyst said officials in the Israeli security apparatus are anticipating that the crisis in the relations between incumbent Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah of Jordan will be reflected in the security situation at the 300 kilometre-long border between the two sides.

This comes weeks after Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah was forced to cancel a planned trip to Al-Aqsa Mosque, after a dispute arose between the kingdom and Israel over the security arrangements.

This led to Amman refusing to allow Netanyahu to fly through its airspace on his way to the UAE for his first official visit to the Emirates the following day.

Tensions escalated further days ago when Netanyahu turned down the Jordanian request to increase water supplies to the kingdom.

READ: Netanyahu rejects Amman's request to increase water supplies to Jordan

According to Israeli media, Netanyahu believes King Abdullah interfered in the Israeli elections when he received Defence Minister and the head of the Blue and White party, Benny Gantz, Netanyahu's rival, just weeks before the Israeli elections. At the time Gantz said: "Netanyahu is an unwanted figure in Jordan."

"Many members of Israel's defense establishment have reservations about the tough stance adopted by Netanyahu in relation to Amman, " Harel wrote.

Warning: "A weakening of the royal family in Jordan could also impact Israel and the long and stable border between the two countries, in a manner that will oblige the IDF [Israeli army] to allocate more resources, manpower, and intelligence efforts."

This, along a border which has not seen defences upgraded for decades, he explained.