Exclusive: British Government refuses to condemn Jordan's honouring of terrorist murderers

On 20 November I posted an article about the special prayer session held at the opening session of the Parliament in Jordan to honour the two terrorists who committed the Har Nof synagogue massacre. I wrote the following letter to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (fcocorrespondence@fco.gov.uk).

Dear Sir/Madam

The UK has especially close ties with Jordan and we are continually told by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that Jordan is one of our closest allies in the Middle East and a 'moderate nation fighting extremism'.

Can you therefore tell me what the FCO plans to do about the Jordanian Government honouring (in their opening Parliament session on 19 November 2014) the Palestinian terrorists who carried out the synagogue massacre in Jerusalem on 17 November?

Not only was this essentially a declaration of war against Israel (with whom Jordan has an increasingly worthless 'peace treaty') but it was also an affront to the British government's anti-terrorist policy.

I have previously written to you about the British Government's foreign aid budget going directly to fund Palestinian terrorists and received the less than acceptable response that 'to withdraw funding would only encourage more terrorism'. I would hope on this occasion that the actions of the Jordanian Government at least triggers a formal condemnation from the British Government.

Well I have now had an answer from the FCO.  In order to 'de-escalate tensions' Britain has decided it will not say anything at all to the Jordanians about their support for terrorism. In order to appreciate how appalling this response is you need to remember that the British Goverment never has any qualms about calling in the Israeli ambassador to formally complain about far less serious matters - indeed in the last 3 years Britain has expelled Israeli diplomats from the UK 'in retaliation' for the death of a Hamas terrorist in Dubai that was never even proved to have any Israeli involvement; and  threatened to break off all diplomatic relations with Israel because Israel had the audacity to issue planning permits for building of new homes in its capital city.
Here is the full response:

Dear Mr Davidson,

Thank you for your email of 20 November in regard to the Jordanian Opening of Parliament on 19 November.

Despite Jordan's official condemnation of the synagogue attack the subsequent prayers understandably caused alarm and outrage to many.

As you may be aware, the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms and called on all world leaders to step up and condemn this brutality. Taking this into account we will not be taking further with the Jordanians, we do not consider it a declaration of war against Israel.

The UK highly values its relationship with both Israel and Jordan, and through our partnerships we share the common purpose of ensuring the security and prosperity of both countries. We will continue working to fight terrorism and will support both Israel and Jordan and where ever possible in the fight against Terrorism.

This is a sensitive period for Israel and Jordan, both sides must do everything they can to de-escalate tensions when they occur.

On behalf of the

Near East Department Foreign and Commonwealth Office