Army Chief Dan Halutz convened senior IDF officers Thursday in wake of a diplomatic crisis with Jordan triggered by Central Command Chief Yair Naveh's remarks Wednesday that King Abdullah may be the Kingdom's last monarch.
Halutz called on the army's senior officers "to be sensitive and careful" in their public statements.
Major-General Naveh is set to send a letter of apology to his Jordanian counterpart to clarify his statement.
During the General Staff's meeting, participants also discussed recent comments by Halutz's deputy, Major-General Moshe Kaplinsky, who said President Mubarak's regime in Egypt is weakening.
Halutz stressed the need for officers to be extra careful in what they say.
"Careless remarks may be misinterpreted and taken out of context, thus dragging the IDF into unnecessary public debates and creating a false impression regarding Israel's policy."
Fury in Jordan
Naveh's words roused furor in Jordan and generated harsh responses by Jordanian officials.
Omar a-Nasif, Jordan’s acting ambassador to Israel, rebuked Naveh's remarks and called on Israel to discipline the major-general.
Speaking to the Jordanian news agency a-Nasif said he expects Israel to “take the necessary steps against the officer who made these remarks which point to a lack of discipline and understanding.” He added that should Israel fail to discipline Naveh relations between the two neighbors could be dented.
Irked Jordanian officials contacted the Foreign Ministry to submit an official complaint about Naveh’s remarks.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told her Jordanian counterpart Abed al-Khatib that Israel sees in Jordan a strategic partner and will continue to improve relations between the two countries.
“Everything else contradicts the Israeli government’s policy,” she said.