Jordan appoints new ambassador to Israel

Jordan has appointed a new ambassador to Israel over two years after the previous envoy returned to Amman from Tel Aviv, a senior Jordanian official told AFP and Ammon News on Friday.

The new ambassador, Walid Obeidat, is a career diplomat in the Hashemite Kingdom’s foreign service.

According to Ammon News, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry consulted the Israeli Foreign Ministry before making the appointment.

“No date has been set yet for his departure to Israel,” the official told AFP.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman already welcomed the move at a pre-Rosh Hashana reception he held at the Foreign Ministry earlier this month.

The Jordanian ambassador is expected to present his credentials to President Shimon Peres in mid-October, during a ceremony in which the new Egyptian ambassador -- Ataf Salam -- is also expected to present his credentials.

Amman’s decision to send a new ambassador came after Cairo decided to name a new envoy to replace Yasser Rada, who finished his term in July.

The previous Jordanian envoy, Ali Ayed, returned to Amman in July 2010 to take the helm of the Jordanian Information and Communications Ministry.

In late 2010, it was reported that Amman was delaying appointing a new ambassador to Israel due to its dismay over the state of peace talks with the Palestinians at the time.

Former Jordanian prime minister Abdul Salam Majali, one of the chief negotiators in the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan, reportedly said at the time that he was very disappointed by the deterioration of the peace talks and accused Israel of torpedoing the talks from their outset.