Jordan summons Israel envoy over undiplomatic letter

Jordan's foreign minister has summoned the Israeli ambassador over a letter sent by Israel's parliament head to his Jordanian counterpart, which Jordan says breaches diplomatic rules, the country's media reported. Al-Masri, who was born in Nablus, notified Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh of the private correspondence, which he said broke rules governing diplomatic channels between the countries. He also objected to the letters' content, al-Ghad noted, saying it contained "fallacies and political claims that contradicted Jordan and the international community’s attitude towards the question of Palestine." The letter is an "embodiment of Israel’s arrogance, boasting and racism as well as perverting historic facts to prove Israel’s claims," al-Masri said. Israeli Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin wrote to Jordan Senate President Tahir al-Masri expressing "best wishes on the occasion of the new year," Jordanian daily al-Ghad reported on Friday. According to al-Ghad, Rivlin also wrote to Palestinian-born al-Masri: "Israel has been facing challenges and anti-Semitism over the past few years as well as attempts to delegitimize Israel. Israel faced terrorist attacks by Hamas and Hizbullah on civilians, and is facing Iran’s nuclear program which threatens to destroy Israel. "Furthermore, the Palestinians refuse to resume face-to-face peace negotiations with Israel, and there is the Arab Spring which nobody still knows where is it headed. "Despite hardships, the Jewish people managed to return to their homeland and to build a modern democratic and viable state. Despite all challenges we will remain optimistic because our fathers who founded the state in 1948 were optimistic. Israel was barren land with quagmires spreading malaria, and almost without natural resources, or oil underground." The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 resulted in the exodus of nearly two thirds of the Palestinian people from their historic homeland. The BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights describes the situation of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons as "the largest and longest-standing case of displaced persons in the world today."