Jordan recalls ambassador to Israel
October 30, 2019
In protest of Israeli officials' refusal to release two citizens detained for several weeks without charges, Jordan recalled its ambassador for consultations on Tuesday.
Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi wrote on Twitter that Israel had consistently rejected requests "to heed our legitimate demands" to release the pair.
"We hold Israeli government responsible for the lives of our citizens whose health conditions have severely deteriorated in illegal arbitrary detention," al-Safadi wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
"We will take all necessary legal & diplomatic measures to ensure their safe return home."
Earlier in October, Jordan's Foreign Ministry had summoned Israel's envoy in Amman and handed him a letter protesting the detentions.
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Serious health problems
Authorities arrested Hiba al-Labadi, 32, on August 20 and Abdul Rahman Miri, 29, on September 2 as they entered the occupied West Bank from Jordan and have held them in administrative detention ever since. The policy permits the open-ended imprisonment without charges of people deemed suspects of security offenses.
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Advocates for the prisoners say they have serious health problems. Miri, 29, has battled cancer since 2010 and requires regular checkups, according to the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs, which has assisted him. On Tuesday, Raslan Mahajne, a lawyer representing the prisoners, said an Israeli military court had refused an appeal to release Miri.
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Arrested on her way to a wedding, al-Labadi went on hunger strike 37 days ago, Mahajne called her condition poor. On Tuesday, he said he expected the court to rule on her appeal in the coming days.
mkg/rc (Reuters, dpa, AP)
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