Israel protests image of Jordanian minister stepping on flag

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel said Sunday that it had filed a strong protest to Jordan over a picture of a Jordanian government minister stepping on an image of the Israeli flag.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Amman delivered the protest. It said it took the incident extremely seriously and had also summoned Jordan's acting ambassador to Israel to convey its objection.

A photo published on the Jordanian website Jfranews showed Information Minister Jumana Ghuneimat stepping on a large image of the Israeli flag.

Footprints were also printed on the flag, which Israel said was displayed at a gathering of Jordan's engineering union.

Israel and Jordan signed a peace agreement in 1994, but relations have often been frosty amid differences over Israeli policies in Jerusalem, where Jordan is custodian over Muslim sites, and toward the Palestinians.

Jordanian officials said the incident occurred last Thursday when Ghuneimat visited the trade union building.

Ghuneimat was not answering her phone on Sunday and did not issue any public statements.

Yahya al-Saoud, an independent lawmaker, said Ghuneimat was widely applauded Sunday during an appearance at a budget debate in the parliament.

"Ten to 12 lawmakers delivered speeches in the session, and most of them greeted her as a bold minister," he said.