Israel FM warns of diplomatic crisis with detained citizens

The Israeli Foreign Ministry has warned the government and security services that the arrest and administrative detention of two Jordanian citizens could lead to a diplomatic crisis with Jordan.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said National Security Adviser, Meir Ben-Shabbat, intends to visit Jordan in the coming days in an attempt to resolve the issue of Hiba Al-Labadi and Abdel Rahman Miri’s detention.

The Israeli security authorities arrested Al-Labadi on 20 August and Miri on 12 September at the border crossing between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank and held them in administrative detention without charge or trial.

In protest against her illegal detention, Al-Labadi launched an open hunger strike over a month ago and was transferred to hospital twice before being returned to prison. Miri has been battling cancer since 2010.

READ: Administrative Torture: Free Heba al-Labadi, a Jordanian Citizen in Israeli Prison

Lawyer, Raslan Mahajneh, who represents the two prisoners said Al-Labadi’s health is now stable, but could rapidly deteriorate as a result of her continued hunger strike.

The arrest of Al-Labadi and Miri sparked protests in the Jordanian street and on social media.

The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that it had summoned its ambassador in Tel Aviv for consultations “in protest against Israel’s continued illegal and inhumane detention of Jordanian citizens Hiba Al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Miri.”

“We hold the Israeli government responsible for the lives of our citizens whose health conditions have severely deteriorated in illegal arbitrary detention,” Jordan’s Foreign Minister, Ayman Al-Safadi, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “We will take all necessary legal & diplomatic measures to ensure their safe return home,” he added.

Meanwhile, Jordan announced that it had arrested an Israeli man who tried to illegally enter the kingdom.

Nidal Ta’ani, the head of the Jordanian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee said the man could be used as a bargaining chip to release Al-Labadi and Miri.

READ: Jordan, Israel mark anniversary of peace treaty amid weak relations