Netanyahu meets Jordan's King Abdullah II in Amman
Netanyahu meets Jordan's King Abdullah II in AmmanFlash 90

King Abdullah of Jordan is refusing to answer calls from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu as the two countries continue to clash over Israel's response to violent Arab rioting on the Temple Mount. 

According to Jordanian and Arab press, Channel 2 reports, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry has also declined to accept diplomatic messages of reconciliation from the Prime Minister's Office in recent days. 

Sources in Jordan add that the kingdom has "changed its diplomatic tactics" in response to Israeli actions on the Temple Mount, conducting a "mini-boycott" on the Jewish state. 

Trade relations between the two countries have declined significantly in the last week and a half, with fruit and vegetable imports from Israel to Jordan stopping almost completely, according to Arab media. 

Jordan has also threatened to recall its ambassador to Israel as well prepare legal documents accusing Israel of breaching the countries' 1994 peace treaty, which grants the Jordanian Waqf control over the Temple Mount. 

According to Jordanian officials, these measures against Israel are part of a plan to direct international attention toward what is happening in Jerusalem as well as to curb Netanyahu's policies via legal means. 

King Abdullah has become increasingly critical of Israel since clashes on the Temple Mount began on Rosh Hashanah eve last week. 

In a meeting with EU official Donald Tusk on Sunday, Abdullah blasted Netanyahu's actions, calling on the “the international community and the EU in particular [to] adopt a firm position to halt these serious aggressions and violations."

Israel on Monday then accused Jordan of exacerbating tensions on the Temple Mount, after Abdullah proclaimed to Arab MKs that Jews had no business praying on Judaism's holiest site.

In a sharply-worded message, Israel asked Abdullah not to run away from responsibility, informing him that the Waqf, which ostensibly answers to the King of Jordan, had allowed armed terrorists to sleep in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Mount.

Despite the strong words, a senior diplomatic source clarified that Israel has no intention of escalating its relationship with Jordan, but merely wants it to take the necessary responsibility for maintaining peace on the Temple Mount.