After bridge duel nixed, Israeli and Jordanian lawmakers feud over phone

Yahya Al-Saud tells Oren Hazan to go to hell when he refuses to apologize for tweet; Israeli says an actual meeting would have ended ‘with a hug and a selfie’

By ToI Staff 2 August 2017, 11:53 pm

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Oren Hazan attends the Holon Purim parade, the largest in the country, on March 12, 2017. (Miriam Alster/ Flash90)

A phone conversation between unruly lawmakers from opposite sides of the Jordan Valley Wednesday ended abruptly with unapologetic Israeli Knesset member Oren Hazan being told to go to hell, after a physical showdown between the two failed to materialize Wednesday.

Channel 2 TV facilitated a phone conversation between Hazan and Yahya Al-Saud Wednesday night, after governments in Jerusalem and Amman interfered to prevent their intended actual powwow at the Allenby Bridge crossing hours earlier.

Amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Jordan, Al-Saud, known for violent outbursts in the Jordanian parliament, had on Sunday urged troublemaker Likud MK Oren Hazan to meet him at the border crossing over the Jordan River for a fistfight.

In the phone call, Saud confirmed that he was looking for a physical fight, while Hazan, known for his crude behavior and publicity seeking, envisioned a more peaceful result.

Jordanian MP Yahya Al-Saud in his car on the way to a planned encounter with Israeli MK Oren Hazan at the Allenby Bridge border crossing. (Screen capture: Facebook)

At the start of the phone brawl, facilitated by Channel 2 reporter Ohad Hemo, Hazan asked Saud if he wanted to conduct the conversation in English. The latter refused and subsequently insisted that Hazan first apologize to the Jordanian people before any conversation could unfold.

Saud was seeking for an apology for a comment made by Hazan last week as the two countries were at loggerheads over a shooting at the Israeli Embassy in Amman. Hazan at the time berated the Hashemite Kingdom: “It seems our neighbors to the east, Jordan, whom we douse with water and whose asses we protect day and night, need a little reeducation,” he tweeted.

While the Likud lawmaker told his Jordanian counterpart that he would not apologize, Hazan insisted that he was interested in seeking peace.

Without an apology though, Saud refused to continue the conversation. The Jordanian MP told him repeatedly to “go to hell” before angrily hanging up the phone.

Still on the line with Channel 2, Hazan said the hangup was unfortunate and that if they had met in person, “it would have ended with a hug and a selfie.”