Benjamin Netanyahu forced to intervene to stop border fist fight between Israeli and Jordanian MPs

Israeli prime minister’s office calls maverick MP Oren Hazan ordering him to stay away from proposed fight site at Allenby Crossing

Screenshot of an image shared by social media users after Oren Hazan accepted Yahya al-Saud's invitation to meet at the Allenby Crossing between Israel and Jordan

An Israeli MP has had to forfeit a planned fight with a Jordanian lawmaker on the border between the two countries after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered him to stand down.

Jordanian MP Yahya al-Saud had challenged Oren Hazan of Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party to a duel on Wednesday at the Allenby Crossing point between the two countries after the two engaged in a heated Twitter spat.

The week-old altercation began when Mr Hazan tweeted that Jordan needed a “re-education” on its relationship with Israel as tensions between the two countries rose following the shooting of two Jordanian attackers outside the Israeli embassy building in Amman on 23 July.

“The shoe of any Palestinian child is more honourable than this villain and his entity [country] and the shoe of any Arab and Muslim is better than him and his rogue entity, which has no origin and religion,” Mr Saud replied, challenging him to a duel.

“I accept the invitation of the Jordanian member of parliament to the meeting on the bridge. Tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. I'll be at Allenby Bridge for a face-to-face talk. I've got an offer he can't refuse,” Mr Hazan tweeted in reply.

A physical brawl was expected, given both politicians’ controversial histories.

Mr Hazan had almost made it to the Allenby Crossing on Wednesday morning when Mr Netanyahu’s office called and ordered him not to go near it.

“The Israeli MP is a coward, he retreated,” Mr Saud said in a video published by Jordanian media, after travelling to the border to “express the anger of the Jordanian people”.

Mr Hazan, a scandal-plagued member of the Knesset, used to own a casino in Bulgaria, where it is alleged he procured sex workers and drugs for customers. Mr Hazan was temporarily suspended over the allegations - which he denies - in 2015.

He made international headlines during Donald Trump’s visit to Israel in May by insisting on holding up proceedings to demand a selfie with the president - much to Mr Netanyahu’s obvious displeasure.

Mr Saud has been involved in several fights with fellow Jordanian MPs inside the parliament building in recent years.