Israeli embassy staff, including guard who killed 2, leave Jordan amid investigation
July 25, 2017 3:46 P.M. (Updated: July 25, 2017 7:54 P.M.)
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BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — Staff members of the Israeli embassy to Jordan, including a security guard who killed two Jordanians, returned to Israel on Monday night after a day of tensions between the two countries over the deadly shootout.
A Jordanian investigation into the shooting, in which Muhammad Zakariya al-Jawawdeh, 17 , and Bashar Hamarneh were killed, revealed that the deadly incident started off as a professional dispute, official Jordanian news agency Petra reported on Monday.
According to Jordanian police, al-Jawawdeh had accompanied a relative delivering furniture to the security guard’s apartment in the Israeli compound in Amman, when an argument over alleged delays turned physical.
Witnesses said that al-Jawawdeh attacked the Israeli security guard — whom Israeli media have referred to as Ziv — with a screwdriver, after which the Israeli shot at him and Hamarneh, the apartment building owner.
Petra reported that the case had been referred to a prosecutor for further legal steps, as Jordan and Israel have sparred over whether the security guard should be handed over to Jordanian custody.
Israel, meanwhile, has refused to allow Jordanian authorities to question the injured Israeli security guard, citing his immunity under the Vienna Conventions — a body of international law which Israel has been accused of regularly violating.
Nadav Argaman, the director of Israel’s intelligence service, the Shin Bet, traveled to Jordan in an attempt to resolve the situation, whereas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone call with Jordan’s King Abdullah over the case.
The Israeli security guard thanked Netanyahu for helping him leave Jordan without facing interrogation or criminal charges.
"I know an entire country stands behind us. You told me yesterday I’d return home, and you calmed me down, and then it happened. I thank you wholeheartedly,” Israeli news outlet Ynet quoted him as saying.
Despite reports that Israeli authorities would remove metal detectors at the entrance of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem in exchange for securing the return of the security guard, Netanyahu denied that such an agreement had taken place.