Israel Embassy shooting in Jordan complicates holy site crisis
JERUSALEM: A deadly shooting at Israel’s Embassy in Jordan has further complicated Israeli government efforts to find a way out of an escalating crisis over Al-Aqsa Mosque, including mass Muslim prayer protests and Israeli-Palestinian violence.
The shooting, in which an Israeli security guard killed two Jordanians after being attacked by one of them with a screwdriver, led to a diplomatic standoff between the two countries at a time when Jordan is heavily involved in efforts to defuse the crisis over the holy site in occupied Jerusalem.
Jordanian officials said Monday that the guard could only leave after an investigation, according to a news site linked to Jordan’s military. Israel insisted the guard has diplomatic immunity.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke to the guard and assured him that Israel has experience in dealing with such a situation and would bring him home. He said Jordan’s ambassador to Israel came to the Foreign Ministry earlier Monday “to help solve the crisis.”
The drama played out as Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump’s Mideast envoy, headed to the region on Monday. It was the first sign of a highlevel, on-the-ground attempt by the Trump administration to end the standoff between Israel and the Muslim world.
The escalation began earlier this month when gunmen fired from the holy site, killing two policemen. In response, Israel installed metal detectors at the site, a move that incensed the Muslim world.
The shooting at Israel’s embassy in Amman could further inflame Jordanian public opinion against Israel.
The Amman shooting took place on Sunday evening in a residential building used by the embassy staff.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the incident began when two Jordanian workmen arrived at the building to replace furniture. It said one of the workers, later identified as a 17-year-old of Palestinian origin, attacked an Israeli security guard with a screwdriver.
The guard opened fire, killing the teen. A second Jordanian, the owner of the building who was also a physician, was hit by gunfire and later died of his wounds. The guard was lightly hurt, the ministry said.
The Jordanian news site Hala Akhbar, which is linked to the kingdom’s military, quoted diplomatic and security officials as saying that Jordan refused to let the guard leave without an investigation.
The website quoted the officials as saying that Jordan might take “diplomatic measures” if Israel refuses to meet the demand.
An Israeli government official said talks were under way whether to evacuate the embassy staff, given the tensions in Jordan.
He said either all or none of the staff would be evacuated, and that the security guard would not be left behind.
Call for justice Zakariah Al-Jawawdeh, father of the slain teen, on Monday called for an investigation and said he would not bury his son until he was shown security camera footage of the incident.
He told The Associated Press that his son Mohammed is a “son of Jordan who was shot on Jordanian soil” and he deserved justice.
He described Mohammed as apolitical, saying his son spent long hours working in the family furniture store and had no time to watch the news.
Israel’s security Cabinet met from late Sunday until the early hours of Monday to discuss the crisis at the shrine and the embassy shooting, and was to convene again Monday afternoon.
Netanyahu said Israel is in regular contact “with security and government officials on all levels in Amman to bring a speedy a resolution to this event.”