Jordanian MPs seek expulsion of Israeli envoy
Move comes in response to ‘Israeli massacres against brotherly Palestinians’ in occupied West Bank
A group of Jordanian MPs have called for the expulsion of Israel’s ambassador in Amman, citing “Israeli massacres against the brotherly Palestinians.”
In a memorandum, signed by 66 lawmakers from the 130-strong Lower House, signatories also called on the government to recall Jordan’s ambassador from Tel Aviv and “adopt a firm position toward the ‘Zionist’ occupation’s crimes and massacres against Palestinians in Nablus, Jenin, Ramallah, Jerusalem and elsewhere across the Palestinian territories.”
The memo, seen by Arab News, initiated by veteran MP Khalil Attiyeh, also said that the “Israeli massacre of the Palestinians, the latest in Nablus (in the occupied West Bank), are (sic) posing a direct threat to Jordan’s security and stability.”
At least six Palestinians were reportedly killed and dozens others were injured by Israeli forces during a raid on Tuesday in Nablus, the deadliest day for Palestinians this year.
The Israel Defense Forces said that snipers and soldiers with shoulder-mounted missiles participated in the operation.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, five people were killed in the old city of Nablus during the Israeli raid, while a sixth was killed in Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah, by Israeli live fire during a demonstration against the Nablus operation.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the killings as a war crime and called on the US to stop Israeli aggression in the West Bank before things reach a critical point, the presidency’s spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said.
The IDF said it was targeting the Lions’ Den, a new militant group, which analysts say was formed in Nablus this year by young men belonging to no Palestinian organization and with no distinctive ideology.
“With its ongoing terrorism and violence against the brotherly Palestinians, Israel has proved to be unreliable peace partner,” the Jordanian MPs said, calling on the government to terminate the 1994 Wadi Araba Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty.
The Palestinian Parliament hailed the Jordanian MPs’ appeal to expel the Israeli ambassador, urging other Arab and Islamic parliaments to pressure their countries’ governments to end relations with Israel.
Jordanian lawmakers have previously submitted similar petitions to the government to expel the Israeli ambassador in Amman.
The latest parliamentary appeal was in April this year, in protest against the Israeli crackdown on Palestinians at Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is under the custodianship of Jordan.
According to political analyst Raja Talab, the newly-formed Palestinian militant organization, the Lions’ Den (Areen Al-Osoud), has carried out several attacks against the IDF over the past few months and “has been a secret that Israel is unable to decode.”
The organization, Talab argued, has demonstrated “outstanding combat techniques and has changed rules of engagement with the Israeli forces and moved from receiving attacks to initiating them.”
Talab, also a veteran journalist, explained that the Lions’ Den had
turned into a “genuine security threat” which Israel has not faced in decades.
“Israel is unable to decode the organizational structure of the militant group because it has no single ideology,” he added.
He also explained that the organization has fighters from Fatah’s Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and the Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades — the military wing of Hamas — as well as Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds.
What complicates the matter for Israel, according to Talab, is the fact that there is no central command and leadership for the new militant group.
“The decision to launch an attack against Israeli forces is taken individually and spontaneously in the field,” he said.
According to media reports, the Lions’ Den is centered in Nablus’ Old City and emerged in September following the killing of Ibrahim AlNabulsi by the IDF in August.
Palestinian sources suggest the Lions’ Den was co-founded by Adham Al-Shishani, Mohammad Al-Dakhil, Ashraf Mubaslat and Ibrahim Al-Nabulsi, who were all under 25 years of age and were all killed by Israeli forces.