Jordan calls for Israeli guard to face court
Jordan is pushing Israel to send to trial a security guard who killed two Jordanians at the Israeli embassy in Amman last week.
The Jordanian ministry of foreign affairs on Friday said the guard’s diplomatic immunity did not stop him from facing trial in Israel.
The ministry handed Israel the findings of a public prosecution investigation into the incident, and asked for the guard to be tried in Israel in line with article 31 of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic ties.
Attorney general Akram Masaadeh said that the guard had been charged in his absence in Jordan with two counts of murder and for having an unlicensed weapon. Israel says it has questioned the guard, identified only as Ziv, over the shootings.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced the guard and patted him on the shoulder when he arrived home in Israel. Jordan allowed him to leave the country after authorities took his testimony.
The guard shot dead carpenter Mohammad Al Jawawdeh, 16, on Sunday after the two men argued over the delivery and installation of bedroom furniture at a residential building leased to the Israeli embassy, police say.
Al Jawawdeh attacked and wounded the guard, who shot him and the Jordanian landlord of the property, Bashar Hamarneh, who was standing next to him. The landlord died in hospital.
In questioning in Israel on Thursday, the guard denied the Jordanian police report, saying he was attacked for “nationalistic reasons”.
The killings have soured ties between the two countries that signed a peace treaty in 1994 and had been stepping up their security co-operation amid the war in Syria and in the fight against ISIL.
The 1994 treaty is unpopular in Jordan where many citizens are of Palestinian origin. Under the treaty, the two countries agreed to “ensure mutual enjoyment by each other’s citizens of due process of law within their respective legal systems and before their courts”.
Ibrahim Aljazy, a Jordanian lawyer and former minister of justice, said that according to the treaty the guard should face trial in his own country.
“By exerting pressure on Israel to prosecute the guard, Jordan has acted to defend its national interests,” said Mr Aljazy.
“Israel should take this demand seriously, especially because the tensions might impact any security co-operation between both countries given the war in Syria and the fight against ISIL.”
The embassy incident also stoked tensions that were already high after the introduction of Israeli security measures at Al Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, of which Jordan is custodian.
It drew a strong public response from Jordan’s king Abdullah, who criticised Mr Netanyahu on Thursday and demanded that the guard face justice.
“After the king’s statements, it is clear to everyone that the crisis with Israel is beyond a diplomatic crisis. It has turned into a major political crisis,” wrote Fahed Kheitan, a columnist for Alghad daily newspaper.
“Pertaining to the legal aspects, the government should not give up on the trial of the murderer. Israel is not committed to this. Politically, the government has the right to adopt the needed steps to respond to this shameful conduct adopted by Israel to win over the Jordanians’ dignity and rights.”
US president Donald Trump spoke with king Abdullah on Friday “to discuss the events that transpired in the region over the past two weeks”, the White House said.
Both leaders said they were encouraged by the efforts taken to reduce tensions and pledged to continue to stay in close communication.
Mr Trump also emphasised Jordan’s important role in regional security.
A Jordanian lawyer and former minister of justice said that the guard should face trial in his own country