Israel Makes a Goodwill Move and Vaccinates 700 Jordanian Workers

In recent news, the State of Israel has begun the administration of coronavirus vaccines to 700 workers from Jordan, who were given permission to return to work in hotels in Eilat. 

Due to the restrictions imposed by the governments of either country, these workers had not been allowed to enter Israel. On Friday, the government and the relevant authorities got together and reversed this policy. They were specifically urged by Gabi Ashkenazi, the Foreign Minister, Jordanian authorities, and the Israeli Embassy located in Amman. 

However, the Health Ministry guidelines have clearly indicated that Jordanian workers will have to provide proof of negative coronavirus tests, as well as isolate when required. Only then will they be allowed to work in hotels in Eilat. 

The Foreign Ministry revealed a statement in which is stated that the workers returning to Israel is only one step of the many to come in strengthening the civil relations between the two countries. 

The move could not have come at a better time, as tensions between Jordan and Israel have mounted. Just last week, the former blocked a planned flight of Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister, from going to the United Arab Emirates, via their airspace.

In response, Netanyahu had gotten angry and given instructions to ban all flights from Jordan from flying over Israel.  

By the time Jordan agreed to permit Netanyahu’s plane to fly over its airspace, the Prime Minister had already canceled his order. The ban on Jordanian flights was also consequently lifted before any scheduled ones had had the chance to fly over Israel. 

This incident occurred only a day after the Crown Prince of Jordan, Hussein bin Abdullah, canceled his visit to Mosque Al-Aqsa. He had planned on making the trip to Temple Mount, due to the special occasion of Isra’ and Mi’raj. This is a holiday that marks the historical occasion of the Prophet Muhammad’s journey to Jerusalem and then heaven from Mecca. 

The visit had been pre-coordinated with the State of Israel, however, when the prince arrived at the border, he had more guards with him than had initially been agreed upon. 

Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, claimed that Israeli authorities had decided to change their conditions for the visit. Additional guards had not been allowed to enter the country and therefore, Hussein had canceled his trip. 

Following the announcement of the goodwill gesture by the Office of the Prime Minister, a senior official from Israel stated that the country is interested in having a productive and positive relationship with Jordan. 

In other news, the Hadassah-University Medical Center in Jerusalem has signed a letter of intent, which states that it is going to conduct at least a small part of its Phase III trials in Brazil. These trials will be for the vaccine candidate developed by Israel itself, as announced by a doctor at the center. 

Just last month, the letter had been signed when top Brazilian officials had been visiting the country. This was revealed by the director of the clinical research unit at Hadassah, Prof. Yossi Karko, who is leading the second phase of trials of Brilife.