Mideast Report

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JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel's new ambassador to Jordan, Oded Eran, has resigned his post, saying he was never informed about a secret meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Hussein last week.

Eran, who became Israel's second ambassador to Amman only last week, said he learned of the meeting through the media.

The meeting in the Jordanian port city of Aqaba had been hastily arranged to resolve a dispute between the countries over water allocation.

"I have no intention to be a censor or an obstacle to meetings, but there is a need to brief the embassy on actions being taken," Eran's letter of resignation said.

Israel's former ambassador to Jordan, Shimon Shamir, told Israel Radio that during his tenure, the prime minister's senior aide, Dore Gold, was sent to Amman for talks with the Jordanian prime minister, and he was informed afterward.

Israeli court allows Rabin documentary

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel's High Court of Justice this week rejected petitions that would have prevented a screening of a television documentary on the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.

On Tuesday, Israel's Channel 2 television broadcast Michael Karpin's film, "The Government is Shocked to Announce…," about the political atmosphere before Rabin's assassination.

The documentary portrayed the extreme right wing as having fueled — and the Likud Party having tolerated — a campaign against Rabin the person, and not just his policies.

The petitioners, representing right-wing groups, had argued that the film was inaccurate and hurtful to a large part of the population.

Israeli army clashes with Hezbollah force

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli forces killed one Hezbollah gunmen and wounded another in a clash on the edge of the southern Lebanon security zone Wednesday. No Israeli troops were injured.

Earlier this week, four Hezbollah gunmen were killed when some 40 fighters were repulsed in an effort to take over a position of the South Lebanese Army.

One Israeli and three SLA troops were wounded in the clash.