Jordan hands Israel murder charge results of shooting probe
Jordanian investigation finds security guard who shot, killed 2 Jordanians should be charged with murder, as Israeli begins; sources close to the Israeli investigation say guard appears to have acted properly under circumstances; anti-Israel protest in Amman draws hundreds.
Jordan has given Israel the results of its investigation into the shooting deaths of two Jordanians by an Israeli Embassy guard.
Jordan's attorney general has filed murder charges against an Israeli embassy guard in the shooting deaths of two Jordanians. State media said Friday that Attorney General Akram Masaadeh charged the guard with two counts of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Reports further stated that Masaadeh called for the guard to be tried in Israel, and that Jordan would relay such a demand through diplomatic channels.
Jordanian authorities have said that in Sunday's incident, the Israeli guard opened fire after a 16-year-old attacked him with a screwdriver. Another Jordanian man, standing near the teen was also killed.
Meanwhile, Israel's State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan instructed the relevant authorities to hand over material relating to the incident, and at the end of the investigation the Jordanian authorities will update the developments and findings.
Political sources privy to the initial Israeli investigation said that it appears the security guard behaved properly under the circumstances after the 16-year-old Jordanian stabbed him three times, twice in the back and once in the chest.
As for the Jordanian doctor, Bashar Al-Hamarna, who owned the apartment and was also killed in the incident, the findings of the initial investigation indicate that after the attacker crept up behind Ziv and began to stab him, he jumped back and fired his weapon. Ziv apparently tripped as he jumped back, which caused one bullet to hit the doctor, who was injured and later died of his wounds. The State of Israel apologized to the Jordanians for his death and undertook to pay the family financial compensation.
Ynet reported yesterday that the police are expected to summon the Israeli security guard at the Israeli embassy in Jordan, who shot two Jordanians to death, for questioning.
The guard, along with the rest of the embassy staff, returned to Israel under the protection of diplomatic immunity.
Upon returning, the guard received a warm welcome from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, much to Jordan's dismay, with Jordan's King Abdullah II calling Netanyahu's behavior "unacceptable and provocative."
The stabbing and subsequent shooting incident at the Israeli embassy in Jordan came following mounting tensions at the Temple Mount, where two Israeli policemen were killed by Palestinian terrorists earlier this month.
Israel responded to the deadly attack at the Temple Mount by setting up additional security measures at the holy site, a move that aroused a monumental backlash from the Muslim and Palestinian publics, including mass prayer demonstrations, violent riots and a deadly attack in the settlement of Halamish, in which three family members were killed by a Palestinian terrorist.
After two weeks of violence, Israel removed the added measures from the site on Thursday, a move that Muslim protestors see as a great victory.
The Waqf, Jordan's religious body that administers a major Jerusalem holy site at the Temple Mount, stated Israeli police have indeed lifted all restrictions on Muslim worshippers there. The Waqf added that the situation at the compound has returned to what it was before a deadly Arab attack there earlier this month.
Israeli police confirmed that age restrictions and other measures set earlier in wake of security assessments warning of Palestinian violence have been lifted.
Gaza's Health Ministry state a Palestinian teen was killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers stationed near the strip's border fence with Israel on Friday.
The ministry added that the 16-year-old was killed protesting tensions at the Templke Mount. There were several such protests on Friday in the coastal territory ruled by the terror group Hamas.
Israel's military said dozens of Palestinians rolled burning tires, hurled rocks at soldiers and tried to damage the security barrier. The military said shots were fired at main instigators after they ignored warning shots and calls to halt.
Several hundred Jordanians have chanted "Death to Israel" in a protest near Israel's Embassy on Friday, before being dispersed by security forces. Friday's protesters emerged from a mosque near the embassy in Jordan's capital, Amman. They were blocked by police after walking for about 200 meters (yards).
