Tension between Jordan and Israel continues to run high, after a deadly incident on July 23rd in the Israeli embassy complex in the city of Amman, in which two Jordanians were killed by an Israeli security guard who was reportedly injured from stab wounds. Israel argued that the guard acted in self-defense after one of the Jordanians, a sixteen-year-old teenager, attacked him with a screwdriver in what Israel described as a “terrorist attack.” Jordan rejected the allegation of terror, with King Abdullah, who visited the family of the Jordanian teenager, demanding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put the Israeli security guard on trial, while warning that the relations between the neighboring states were at risk.
Meanwhile in front of the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital, hundreds of Jordanians gathered in protest of the deadly incident, urging their government to end all diplomatic relations with the Jewish state while chanting “Death to Israel”. “The main headline of this protest is to move the shameful embassy of the Zionist entity from our capital Amman and at the same time to focus on cancelling the shameful agreement of Wadi Araba. These protests will continue and will not stop because the national dignity is a red line for us and Zionists have to understand this,” one of the protesters declared.
Even though many within Jordan’s political ranks sought to politicize the incident with the aim of severing the ties with Israel, with 75 Parliament members signing a petition demanding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador from Jordan – among other measures. The country’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, however, emphasized that the matter would be handled as a criminal case, to ensure that justice is served. “It’s extremely important for us to make sure the rights of our citizens are respected, that a fair trial takes place to ensure that we achieve justice. This is not a politicized case this is a criminal case that is being pursued within the realms of law and order. As I said we will continue our efforts, we will follow the legal paths to ensure that justice is served,” Safadi said during a press conference on the matter.
A Foreign Ministry source told TV7 that the staff of Israel’s embassy in Jordan, including the security guard involved in the shooting incident, returned to Israel last week until further notice.