JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, citing a diplomatic disagreement with Jordan, in embarrassment for his re-election campaign a few days before the vote.
Netanyahu was hoping to use the audience with the UAE’s Crown Prince – their first public meeting since the countries entered into ties last September – to advance his campaign ahead of the March 23 election. Instead, he should explain to the public why his trip was canceled and damage control done to protect Israel’s fragile relationship with the Jordanians.
Netanyahu’s office said it was having trouble coordinating flights over Jordanian airspace after Jordan’s Crown Prince canceled a visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a sensitive holy site under Jordanian supervision, due to differences of opinion about safety arrangements.
Netanyahu said at a news conference that there was a misunderstanding. By the time it was sorted out, he said it was too late to fly.
“I can fly through the clouds of Jordan,” he said. “Today’s visit was not possible until it was coordinated.”
He said he had spoken by telephone to the UAE’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and they agreed that he would visit ‘very soon’. He also said the Emirates had informed him of plans to invest $ 10 billion in Israel.
There were no immediate comments from the UAE.
With Israel now locked in its fourth election campaign in two years, Netanyahu is once again trying to portray himself as an experienced statesman unique in guiding the country through its many diplomatic and security challenges.
One key pillar of the strategy, Netanyahu’s close ties with former President Donald Trump, is no longer relevant now that a new government is in the White House. But Netanyahu continues to point to Israel’s agreements establishing ties with the UAE and three other Arab countries, all mediated by Trump, as one of his proudest achievements.
However, these agreements came at the expense of the Palestinians and neighboring Jordan, which after Egypt became the second Arab country to reach peace with Israel in 1994.
The immediate cause of the dispute this week stems from Jordan’s role as guardian of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam. It is also the holiest place for Jews, who call it the Temple Mount, and has long been a hotbed of tension in the Middle East.
Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II planned to visit the mosque to pray on the Muslim holiday for the sake of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascension from the site. But he turned back at the border due to a disagreement with the Israeli authorities over the number of armed escorts who could accompany him, Israeli media reported.
Jordan’s foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, accused Israel of “changing arrangements” at the last minute and forcing the crown prince to cancel the visit.
“His Highness has decided that he does not want to interrupt this peaceful night of prayer,” Safadi said during a summit in Paris. “We cannot accept Israel’s interference in al-Aqsa’s affairs.”
Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to Jordan, said the mirror reflected a deeper deterioration in relations in recent years.
‘The biggest problem is that there is no dialogue between the no. 1 ‘in Jordan and Israel do not exist, that is, between the prime minister and the king of Jordan,’ he said.
The lack of confidence was highlighted by Israel’s plans last year to annex parts of the West Bank occupied by Israel. Israel has suspended the annexation plan as part of its agreement to establish ties with the UAE, but Eran said the Jordanians remain deeply suspicious.
Jordan, home to a large Palestinian population, sees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the neighboring West Bank as a major concern, and any Israeli annexation is likely to destroy the remaining hope for Palestinian independence. Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks for more than a decade.
“At least they need a political process and they need to move towards a solution,” said Eran, now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a think tank in Tel Aviv. “The process itself is very important to the Jordanians, and if it is not there, there are definitely concerns.”
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu’s office announced that his wife, Sara, had been admitted to hospital with an appendix infection. It is said that she will stay in the hospital for several days.
The canceled trip and medical emergency apparently diverted unwanted attention to Netanyahu’s campaign, at least for the day. The Israeli leader focused his campaign on his successful efforts to vaccinate the Israeli public against the coronavirus.
In a little over two months, Israel vaccinated about 80% of its adult population so that authorities could start opening schools, shops, restaurants and museums just before election day.
Opinion polls still show that Netanyahu is caught up in a tough race against a busy field of challengers. According to the projections, the Likud of Netanyahu is expected to appear as the largest party, but without enough support from allies to form a governing majority coalition.
The trip through the UAE could help blow the campaign. It could also help divert attention from Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, which will resume on April 5, and public outrage over the economic damage caused by repeated coronavirus locks in recent years.
Gideon Rahat, a political scientist at Hebrew University and senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, said Netanyahu had a setback on Thursday but still had time to control the agenda and put things right.
Netanyahu, for example, could still find a way to visit the UAE before the election, Rahat said. And the vaccination campaign could help him more if the economy comes back to life.
Late Thursday, Netanyahu hosted the leaders of Hungary and the Czech Republic for talks on cooperation on their coronavirus strategies.
The Czech Republic has also opened a diplomatic office in Jerusalem, which barely supports Israel’s claims over the disputed city. The Palestinians want the east of Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, to be the capital of their future state. Most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv due to the dispute.
“You could call it a bad day for Netanyahu, but no more than that,” Rahat said.