TEL AVIV – Jordan’s Foreign Ministry on Sunday said despite the fact that a Jordanian government spokeswoman was photographed stepping on an Israeli flag, the Hashemite kingdom is committed to respecting its peace agreement with Israel.
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Qatarneh released a statement reaffirming “the (Jordanian) government’s respect for the peace treaty with Israel.”
Al-Qatarneh added that Jumana Ghneimat’s walking on the flag incident was “being dealt with via diplomatic channels.”
He said that the Jordanian Professional Associations Complex in Amman, a trade union building where the incident occurred, “was private property” and that she “entered via the main entrance to attend an official meeting.”
The response came after Israel called in the Jordanian charge d’affaires in Tel Aviv to “discuss” the incident.
The large flag, which also features footprints, has been stuck on the floor in front of the building for a number of years in protest of Israel and Jordan’s “normalized ties”, union officials said.
Ghunaimat, who also serves as the media and communications minister, received widespread praise on social media for walking on the standard.
Israel’s foreign ministry said it “considers the incident in which a Jordanian minister insulted the Israeli flag in Amman serious.”
Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz was said to have entered the building through a side door.
Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994.