King offers condolences to family of judge killed by Israelis

AMMAN – His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday visited the family of Judge Raed Zuaiter, who was killed by Israeli soldiers last week, to offer condolences, the Royal Court said on its Twitter account. 

The Royal Court also posted in the social media account @RHCJO a photo of King Abdullah embracing the father of the 38-year-old judge, Ala-Eddine Zuaiter. 

“His Majesty King Abdullah II offers condolences to the family of martyr Judge Raed Zuaiter,” read the caption of the photo. 

Also Sunday, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and several MPs paid a visit to the Zuaiter family to offer their condolences. 

On Saturday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, accompanied by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and other ministers, visited the condolences house of Zuaiter family. 

Zuaiter, a judge at the Amman Court of First Instance, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on the King Hussein Bridge crossing linking Jordan and the West Bank.

Israel claimed that he tried to seize the gun of a soldier, but an eyewitness refuted that claim, telling The Jordan Times that Zuaiter did not try to take the weapon of the soldier. The witness said the judge was provoked and beaten by two soldiers before they shot him dead. 

The incident has triggered public anger in Jordan with several large protests near the Israeli embassy in Amman. 

MPs and political parties have called on the government to expel Israel’s ambassador in Amman and to withdraw the Kingdom’s diplomat in Tel Aviv in protest to the killing of the judge. 

They also demanded the government release Ahmad Daqamseh, who is serving a life sentence after he shot dead seven Israeli schoolgirls in 1997.

Jordan summoned the Israeli charge d’affaires in Amman last week to protest the shooting of Zuaiter by Israeli soldiers and ask for an immediate investigation into the incident.

Israel has expressed regret over the shooting.