Several factors are cited for this, among them geographic proximity, King Hussein's Western orientation, and Jordan's modest territorial aspirations.

Memoirists and political analysts have identified a number of "back-channel" and clandestine communications between the two countries which led to cooperation even during times of war.

In the 1967 Six-Day War, Jordan aligned itself with Nasser's Egypt despite an Israeli warning, and lost control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel, but did not relinquish its claim to the territory until 1988.

In 1987, Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein secretly devised a peace plan in which Israel would concede the West Bank to Jordan.

[7] In 1994, Israel and Jordan negotiated a peace treaty, which was signed by Yitzhak Rabin, King Hussein and Bill Clinton in Washington, DC on 25 July 1994.

[8] On 26 October 1994, Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty, normalizing relations between them and resolving territorial disputes, including water sharing.

It supports U.S. efforts to mediate a final settlement, which it believes should be based on the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, proposed by Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the furniture repairman had been wielding a screwdriver, a claim the father of the Jordanian youth denies.

[16] In March 2021, Jordan delayed approval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's flight over the country on the way to the United Arab Emirates.

Israel accused Jordan of doing this deliberately as a response to a dispute over Israeli entry permits for Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah's security detail for a trip to the Al-Aqsa mosque.

[18] However, on 8 July of that year, reports surfaced that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with King Abdullah in what was said to be a "very positive" atmosphere.

[19] In early September 2021, King Abdullah and Israeli president Isaac Herzog discussed sustainability, climate crisis, and energy in an unannounced meeting.

[29][30] In April 2023, Jordanian MP Imad Al-Adwan was arrested by Israeli authorities after trying to smuggle weapons and gold into the West Bank.

[32] On 1 November 2023, Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel, accusing the country of creating an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” and “killing innocent people in Gaza”.

[36][37] Khasawneh argued that Israel's blockade of the heavily-populated Gaza Strip could not be justified as self-defense, and criticised the indiscriminate Israeli assault, which had included safe zones and ambulances in its targets.

King Abdullah has been taking part in diplomatic meetings in Europe, aiming to secure safe passage of humanitarian aid; however, the government is also grappling with domestic problems such as inflation, unemployment, and trafficking of arms and drugs through Jordan to the West Bank.

[42][43] Israel has facilitated Jordanian trade with Iraq and Turkey since 2013 by allowing goods to be transported by truck via the Jordan River Crossing near Beit She'an.

Local campaign coordinators against the deal criticised the high costs when the country is already receiving cheap liquified gas through a port in Aqaba, as well as additional electricity produced by solar power plants.