Israel has postponed a rare visit by relatives of Jordanian prisoners in its jails to November 25 to complete `related procedures,` a Jordanian foreign ministry spokesman said on Sunday.

`The Israeli authorities have postponed the visit, which was due to take place on Tuesday, to November 25, saying that they wanted to complete related procedures,` the spokesman said without elaborating.

Last month, the ministry said that preparations for the trip, the second in two years and the third since Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994, have been made with the Israeli side.

According to the foreign ministry, 40 people are expected to visit their relatives in Israeli jails.

In 2006, 37 Jordanians representing 16 families visited their relatives jailed in Israel during a trip organised by the foreign ministry.

Opposition groups, including the Islamic Action Front, accuse the Jordanian government of `negligence` in its handling of the prisoner issue.

They say that more than 35 Jordanians are jailed in Israel while official figures put the figure at around 20.