Jordanian authorities prevent 6 Israeli journalists from attending summit
The Jordanian authorities on Monday alienated 6 Israeli journalists who arrived in Amman to cover works of the Arab summit.
Well-informed sources said that the Jordanian security sources asked the six journalists to leave in order to ensure their safety and to avoid the regret of the Arab delegations taking part in the summit, with the majority of them refuse dealing with Israel.
The Jordanian security forces escorted the six journalists to King Hussein bridge from where they crossed into the Palestinian territories in their way back to Israel.
The incident of expelling the Israeli journalists came following the decision taken by the Jordanian government not to permit Israeli journalists from covering events of the summit through refusing to give them security permits that avail them to the site of the summit, but the Jordanian authorities took a further step in that it arrested the Israeli journalists who were staying in hotels in Amman and told them the need to leave in order to maintain their security against any possible attack.
A Jordanian official told the London- based al-Hayat daily issued today, the summit conference is an " Arab summit and not a Jordanian one and we have to honor the positions of member states at the Arab League in a matter as such."
He explained that the Jordanian measure aimed at " avoiding the possibility that those journalists will be exposed to security events or friction with the Arab delegations. A matter which will disturb deliberations of the summit."
The spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Amman Roy Jalaad told reporters that three of the six journalists who were expelled are of Israel's Arabs. He added that among the six journalists are one from Haartez, two from Yadhout Ahronout, two from Channel II of the Israeli TV and the 6th one is from the "Panorama" weekly.
Earlier Jordan had apologized from receiving the Israeli foreign minister Shemon Peres on the wake of convening the summit after he had expressed his desire to visit the Kingdom. Well-informed sources said that it seemed that the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon changed his mind to delegate an envoy to Jordan carrying a message to the Jordanian King Abdullah and will instead send him a message through the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv.