Jordan's King Abdullah
Jordan's King AbdullahFlash 90

Jordan's Professional Unions Association decided to place Israeli flags at the entrance of all of its offices throughout the country for passersby to trample on, something which is seen as a deep insult in the Arab world, according to a report in the Jordanian paper Al Rai Al Yom.

The association said that it had decided to place flags outside all of its offices "so that everyone can continue to step on Israel every day. "

The decision came after Israel's Foreign Ministry summoned the Jordanian Ambassador for a dressing down on Sunday after pictures surfaced showing Jordan's Information Minister and Government Spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat on an Israeli flag.

Ghunaimat had trampled on the Israeli flag during a visit to the Professional Unions Association's Amman headquarters where a Jordanian government meeting was held. Prime Minister Omar al-Razaz entered the road through a side entrance, thus avoiding the Israeli flag, a move that drew criticism in Jordan throughout the week.

Following the incident, Israel's Foreign Ministry said that it "looks gravely upon the act of disrespect toward the Israeli flag committed by a minister in the Jordanian government in the engineers' union building in Amman".

Relations between Israel and Jordan have deteriorated recently over a slew of issues including the Temple Mount and Israeli activity in Judea and Samaria.

Earlier this year, King Abdullah II of Jordan announced that he had decided not to extend the leases to Israel of lands in Naharayim and Tzofar. Under the 1994 peace treaty between the countries, those areas were recognized to be under Jordanian sovereignty but the treaty gave Israel special provisions to use the land and allow Israelis free access.