Israeli state radio revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered last Thursday a temporary closure of Israeli airspace in front of Jordanian planes, coinciding with Amman’s refusal to pass his plane through Jordanian airspace.
Israel Radio said that Netanyahu ordered the closure of Israeli airspace to the Jordanian civil aviation movement for only two hours, taking his decision without coordination with the ministries of defense and foreign affairs.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of sabotaging special relations with Jordan.
This came in conjunction with Jordan not allowing Netanyahu's plane to cross over to the UAE, which led to the cancellation of his visit for the fourth time.
The Jordanian refusal came in response to the security arrangements and conditions set by Tel Aviv for the visit, which was scheduled for Wednesday evening for the Jordanian Crown Prince, Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, to occupied Jerusalem to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the occasion of the memory of Isra and Mi'raj.
The Israeli media claimed that the Jordanian side did not fulfill the conditions of the prior arrangements, and brought in more security guards, confirming that when the Israeli side insisted on implementing the conditions and preventing the entry of the security escort of the Crown Prince, the latter decided to cancel the visit.