No deals or compromises made over Israeli embassy killings — gov’t

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Tuesday said that there were neither deals nor negotiations over the incident at the Israeli embassy in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During a joint press conference at the Prime Ministry, Safadi said that Jordan did not allow the Israeli embassy staffer who killed two Jordanians on Sunday to leave before providing his statement to interrogators, despite his diplomatic immunity.

One day after killing Mohammad Jawawdeh, a 16-year-old carpenter, and Bashar Hamarneh, a doctor and the landlord, during an argument with the young man at a residential building rented by the Israeli embassy in Amman, the killer, who shot both, left Jordan to Israel. There he was received by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the footage of the encounter triggered public anger among social media users in Jordan.

The Lower House also took a stiff stand on the government for its “weakness” in dealing with the incident, with MPs walking out in protest of Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi’s remarks on the incident. 

Jawawdeh was laid to rest in south Amman and the funeral was attended by at least 2,000 people, a Jordan Times reporter said.

For his part, Minister of State for Legal Affairs Bisher Khasawneh said that Jordan has dealt with the embassy case in accordance with international law, stressing that the Kingdom has historically complied with international conventions.

State Minister for Media Affairs and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani praised the families of the victims for their “patriotic” stand, stressing that all concerned agencies have followed upon the case to reach suitable decisions that would be in line with Jordan’s interests and justice principles.

On Israeli violations on Jerusalem, the foreign minister  highlighted His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts to protect Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and other holy places in Jerusalem. He underscored the importance of cooperation with Palestinians and Arabs in general to preserve the holy city’s historical status quo. Safadi stressed that Jerusalem is a non-negotiable issue.  

He noted that the government has stayed in contact with media outlets to keep them updated, stressing that official institutions prefer accuracy to swiftness in dealing with the public opinion.