Jordanian lawmakers call for expelling Israeli ambassador

[News_Editor]

Jordanian lawmakers call for expelling Israeli ambassador

2011-08-15 04:03:59 GMT+7 (ICT)

AMMAN (BNO NEWS) -- Thirteen Jordanian parliament members on Sunday called for expelling the Israeli ambassador to Jordan in response to "Israeli offenses against the Palestinian people," Ammon News reported.

A parliamentary memo signed by several MPs also called on the Jordanian government to issue a statement to condemn the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994 to normalize diplomatic relations, which saw the exchange of diplomatic missions in Amman and Tel Aviv. Trade and social relations between the two countries, however, have not seen the level of normalization as was expected.

Israel announced earlier this week plans to develop new units in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future State. The announcement came after Israel lifted last September a 10-month freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since Israel refused to extend the freeze. Palestine demanded a stop to settlement construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank area as a key element for continuing peace talks, aimed at reaching a two-state solution based on the 1967 Green Line.

East Jerusalem was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967 when it also occupied the West Bank and Gaza, which the Palestinians seek as constituent parts of their State.

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