Netanyahu thanks US for helping resolve Jordan crisis
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office thanked the United States on Saturday night for its efforts in resolving the crisis in Jordan.
“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expresses his appreciation for @jaredkushner and @jdgreenblatt45 [special envoys Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt] for the efforts they have made behind the scenes that have helped to end the crisis with Jordan,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted.
The half-year crisis ended on the eve of US Vice President Mike Pence’s arrival Saturday night in Amman, which will be followed by a visit to Israel on Monday and Tuesday.
Jordan said that Israel had apologized for the July incident in which two Jordanians were killed at the Israeli Embassy compound in Amman.
But Netanyahu clarified over the weekend that Israel “expressed regret” to Jordan over the shooting that took place at the embassy last year, but did not apologize.
Netanyahu said Israel will pay reparations to the Jordanian government, but not to the families.
He said that Ambassador to Jordan Einat Shlain, who left Jordan in July along with the embassy staff, will be promoted and reassigned to another appointment.
He added that he holds her in the highest esteem.
An apology and compensation were also offered for a second case that was a point of contention between the two countries, the March 2014 shooting under disputed circumstances of Raed Zeiter, a Jordanian magistrate’s court judge, by an IDF soldier at the Allenby Bridge.
The embassy in Amman has been closed since July, when an Israeli guard, Ziv Moyal, shot dead two Jordanians, Muhammad Jawawdeh and Bashar Hamarneh.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said at the time that Moyal acted in self-defense after being stabbed with a screwdriver by 17-yearold Jawawdeh.
Hamarneh, a physician, was a bystander. He was the owner of the apartment in which the incident occurred, where Jawawdeh, according to Jordanian accounts, had come to install furniture.
Jordan has refused to accept that the shooting was an act of self-defense.
Jordanian media reported Saturday that the Israeli government paid $5 million to the families of Jawawdeh and Hamarneh.
Money was also given to the Zeiter’s family, according to Jordanian media.
The Jordanian newspaper Al-Ad reported Saturday that these formal Israeli actions fulfill the Jordanian conditions for the reopening of the embassy.
The newspaper also reported that Israel said it will initiate legal action against the security guard.
Yasser Okbi/Maariv and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.