Israel will soon release two Jordanians whose months-long detention without charge, after crossing into the West Bank, had led Jordan to recall its ambassador, the two countries said on Monday.
In an apparent tit-for-tat, on October 29 Jordanian security forces arrested an Israeli citizen who they said crossed the border into Jordan illegally.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the handover of the two Jordanian citizens, Heba Al-Labadi and Abdul Rahman Miri, was agreed after talks between Israeli and Jordanian security chiefs. It said Jordan's ambassador, who was recalled on Tuesday, would return to his post in Tel Aviv "in the coming day."
Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said Al-Labadi and Miri would return to Jordan "before the end of the week."
Jordan said the two were illegally arrested without charge a few months ago. Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely said last week the two were suspected of committing security offenses, without being more specific.
The Shin Bet security agency has said Al-Labadi was detained "because of suspicion of her involvement in serious security violations" but gave no further details.
Safadi said on Twitter the Jordanian government "pursued the case from the start under direct instructions from His Majesty King Abdullah to take all necessary steps to release them whatever that may cost," but gave no further details.
Labadi, 24, was arrested in August after crossing to the West Bank to reportedly attend a family wedding. She subsequently went on a hunger strike and was hospitalized after her health deteriorated.
Miri, 29, was arrested last September after he also crossed into the West Bank, allegedly to visit relatives.
Safadi said last month he held the Israeli government responsible for the lives of the two, adding that their health had severely deteriorated and warned the kingdom could escalate its actions if they were not released.
In announcing the decision to release Labadi and Miri, the Israeli statement said Israel viewed its relations with Jordan as "a cornerstone of stability in the Middle East and will continue to act to ensure the region's security."
The two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994.
Despite close security cooperation, relations between Israel and Jordan have been strained. Last year, Jordan chose not to renew a clause of the peace treaty that granted Israel use of two agricultural enclaves inside Jordanian territory.
Efforts by Israel to negotiate an extension of the lease from Jordan have so far not succeeded, and Jordan is to regain full control of the areas next week.
