Amman calls for expulsion of Israeli envoy over Smotrich statements
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The Jordanian parliament is calling for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to the country over statements made by Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich.
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Members of parliament attend a parliament session ​in Amman, Jordan January 6, 2022 (Reuters)
The Jordanian parliament asked the government to expel the Israeli ambassador to Amman in protest of the statements made by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, as well as his actions, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported on Wednesday.
The Jordanian MPs voted unanimously on the request to expel "Tel Aviv's" ambassador, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported, adding that the Jordanian parliament raised during the session a map similar to the one used by Smotrich in Paris, but it had the Jordanian and Palestinian flags.
During his participation in an event in Paris, Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionist Party, appeared on Sunday giving a speech on a podium bearing the map of the so-called "Greater Israel", which included Jordan and the occupied Palestinian territories.
Moreover, during this event, the Israeli far-right minister claimed that "there is no such thing as Palestinians because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people."
"Who are the [real] Palestinians? I am Palestinian," he said, adding, "the Palestinian people are an invention of less than 100 years ago."
Check out: Debunking Smotrich's narrative about the existence of Palestinians
His statements and actions are "reckless incitement and a violation of international norms and the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty," said Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Sinan Majali.
"We also condemn the racist and extremist inciting statements made by the extremist Israeli minister against the brotherly Palestinian people, their right to exist, and their historical rights in their independent and sovereign state on the Palestinian national soil," Majali underlined.
The Jordanian Spokesperson said that Smotrich's actions were "dangerous", underlining that the Israeli occupation government "must take a clear and open position toward such extremism and the inflammatory and malicious statements by a serving minister."
The statement called on the international community to condemn Smotrich's inflammatory actions and statements, which are in violation of human values and principles.
Read next: Smotrich's statements are dangerous, threaten Jordan too: Haniyeh
In response, the Israeli occupation Foreign Ministry claimed later on Monday that "Israel" "is committed to the peace agreement with Jordan from 1994."
"There has been no change in the position of the State of Israel which recognizes the territorial integrity of the Hashemite Kingdom," the occupation Ministry insisted.
Earlier, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh blasted the "inflammatory" remarks made by Smotrich.
Speaking before the cabinet meeting of the Palestinian Authority on Monday, Shtayyeh said the "inflammatory statements are consistent with the first Zionist sayings of a land without a people for a people without a land."
