Jordanian King Abdullah II and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a 2014 meeting. Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO.

Jordan’s king is refusing to take phone calls from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the rift between their countries over possible Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank deepens.

The Palestinian news agency Maan reported on Monday that Netanyahu had called King Abdullah II and received no answer.

In addition, a potential meeting between Abdullah and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz to discuss annexation was being stonewalled.

Maan stated that Abdullah had specifically ordered the royal court not to set a date for the meeting with Gantz. The defense minister had asked for the meeting specifically in order to deal with the annexation issue.

Jordan vehemently opposes Israeli annexation of any part of the West Bank, and Gantz has repeatedly stated that he would only support such a move in coordination with Israel’s Arab neighbors.

Last month, Abdullah told the German weekly Der Spiegel that annexation would cause a “massive conflict.”

“What would happen if the Palestinian National Authority collapsed?” he asked. “There would be more chaos and extremism in the region.”

“If Israel really annexed the West Bank in July, it would lead to a massive conflict with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” he added.