An Israeli embassy security guard shot and killed two Jordanians in Amman under unclear circumstances on Sunday night, with Jordanian media describing the incident as a personal dispute and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs saying the Israeli guard was defending himself from a politically motivated attack.
According to reports, two Jordanian carpenters had arrived to an apartment in the residential complex used by the Israeli embassy to replace furniture.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said in a statement that one of the workers crept up behind the guard and began stabbing him with a screwdriver. The guard then opened fire, killing the alleged attacker and inadvertently shooting the Jordanian owner of the building who was present at the scene, who later died from his wounds.
An Israeli embassy guard shot dead a teenage Jordanian who allegedly attacked him with a screwdriver in Ammanhttps://t.co/yI9I7pXqp7
— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) July 24, 2017
A third Jordanian worker present at the scene was released Monday morning, according to the statement, after an overnight media ban by Israeli authorities was lifted on Monday morning.
The slain alleged assailant was identified as 17-year-old Muhammad Zakariya al-Jawawdeh, reportedly of Palestinian origin, who died after being shot twice. He had previously done maintenance work in the Israeli embassy and its residential compound.
The Jordanian General Security Administration issued a statement, reportedly saying the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being investigated, and did not mention that a Jordanian carpenter had attacked an Israeli.
Shooting at Israeli embassy in Jordan leaves two Jordanians dead. #D24 https://t.co/2dfsbS4A31 pic.twitter.com/1n8cZ1ktqe
— Report 24 Canada (@Report24CA) July 24, 2017
Later Sunday night, dozens of al-Jawawdeh’s family members gathered in al-Sharq al-Awsat square in Amman to protest his death, demanding that the Jordanian government release all details of the investigation and punish the shooter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Eynat Schlein, Israel’s ambassador to Jordan, and with the Israeli security official in the wake of the shooting.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was working with the Jordanian government over various channels, and that discussions in the Israeli cabinet over the case, as well as the Al-Aqsa crisis, were ongoing Monday.
Israeli security chief visits Jordan in bid to solve embassy crisis https://t.co/kRHuI7ABYO
— Elke Götze (@Pucemargine) July 24, 2017
As Israel is refusing to allow Jordanian authorities to question the hurt Israeli security guard, citing his immunity under the Vienna Convention, all security personnel and diplomatic employees have been confined to the embassy compound, according to reports.
The Israelis decided to immediately evacuate all the staff of the Israeli embassy in Amman for fear that the incident would lead to riots and attempts to attack the embassy, Haaretz reported, but Jordanian authorities were refusing to allow the security guard to leave the country and have demanded an investigation.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
