By Abdul Raouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Jordan's new ambassador to Israel, Ghassan al-Majali, officially took up his diplomatic post on Tuesday, according to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
In a statement, ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said that al-Majali had met with Meron Rubin, the ministry's protocol chief, and Haim Regev, the ministry’s deputy director-general for Mideast affairs.
According to the Israeli Broadcast Authority, al-Majali will formally submit his diplomatic credentials to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin later this week.
In mid-September, Amman announced al-Majali’s appointment as Jordan's “extraordinary ambassador” to Israel, replacing Walid Obeidat.
In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed the Wadi Araba peace agreement, after which they established embassies in each other’s country and exchanged ambassadors.
Earlier this year, Jordanian King Abdullah II received the credentials of Israeli Ambassador to Amman Amir Weissbrod.
Relations between the two neighbors soured in July of last year after an Israeli security guard shot two Jordanian workers dead in a residential building affiliated with Israel’s embassy in Amman.
Following a brief diplomatic row, relations were restored after Israel apologized for the incident and vowed to replace then-ambassador Einat Shlain.
