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Tel Aviv, July 24, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Israel and Jordan are locked in a diplomatic stand-off over the release of an Israeli embassy security guard in Amman who killed a Jordanian man after the man allegedly stabbed the guard with a screwdriver.
According to Israeli and Jordanian media reports, Jordan is demanding for an investigation into the embassy guard and preventing him from leaving the country.
An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the guard along with Israeli embassy staff remains at the Israeli embassy compound in Amman as of Monday.
The incident comes amid increasing tensions between Israel and the Muslim world over Israeli security measures at the holiest site in Jerusalem for Muslims and Jews.
Jordan plays a key role in alleviating the tensions, as the Muslim religious authority which administers the site is funded and controlled by the country.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the guard acted in self defence and has immunity from investigation or imprisonment in accordance with international conventions.
A second Jordanian citizen, an apparent bystander, was wounded in the incident and later died of his wounds.
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country was in talks with Jordan to release the security guard.
“We are in ongoing contact with security and government officials in Amman at all levels, in order to bring the incident to an end as quickly as possible.
“I promised the security guard that we will bring him back to Israel, we are already experienced in this,” Netanyahu said in Jerusalem.
Two Jordanian official sources told the Jordanian al-Ghad newspaper that Amman prevented the Israeli guard from leaving the country.
“Jordan plans a diplomatic escalation if Israel does not let it question the guard over the shootings, they said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahson said that the guard was stabbed on Sunday by a 17-year-old Jordanian worker who entered a home on the embassy compound to replace furniture.
“The worker was killed after the guard opened fire, and a second Jordanian citizen, the homeowner, was injured in the incident and later died from his wounds,’’ Jordan’s official Petra news agency reported.
A statement from Jordan’s public security directorate said that the Jordanians had entered the premises for carpentry purposes.
The incident comes over a week after Israel installed metal detectors at Islam’s third holiest site in Jerusalem, following an attack near the site by three Israeli Arabs in which two police officers were killed.
The security measures at the site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and Jews as the Temple Mount have provoked large-scale Palestinian protests and clashes with police.
This has resulted in three Palestinian deaths in Jerusalem in recent days.
Israel’s cabinet is to hold a meeting on Monday night to discuss the incident in Jordan and ongoing tensions over the Noble Sanctuary/Temple Mount.
On Friday, Jordanians held massive rallies in Amman and other parts of the country, protesting Israeli actions around the holy site.
Earlier on Sunday, Jordan requested an urgent meeting for Arab foreign ministers to discuss the situation in Jerusalem.
The Arab League, which has accused Israel of “playing with fire,” said the meeting would be held in Cairo on Thursday.
In 1994, Jordan became the second Arab country after Egypt to establish diplomatic ties with Israel. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola oyewole/Sadiya Hamza