Israel bolsters ties to Jordan as ISIS looms
Jerusalem (CNN)The crucial security relationship between Jordan and Israel is gaining new meaning after the brutal execution of a Jordanian pilot at the hands of ISIS.
In the aftermath of the killing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved quickly to publicly bolster Israel's alliance with Jordan. In a phone call on Thursday, just a day after King Abdullah II returned to Jordan following a shortened trip to Washington, Netanyahu extended his condolences to Abdullah and expressed his anger over ISIS's "barbaric cruelty," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The Jordanian pilot, Lt. Moath al-Kasasbeh, was burned alive by ISIS militants in a video shared online around the world.
The tragedy is a prime opportunity for Netanyahu to shore up a relationship that has undergone some strain in recent months over restricted Palestinian access to the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Jordan recalled its ambassador three months earlier over rising tensions in Jerusalem, but on Monday the ambassador was back in Tel Aviv, a sign that Jordan sees the importance of smoothing over its relationship with Israel.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/06/politics/israel-jordan-relationship-strengthened-isis/
