Released for Publication:
On Sunday evening, a Jordanian terrorist entered the Israeli Embassy guard’s residence building in Amman, Jordan to deliver furniture. The building is located adjacent to the Israeli Embassy.
The Jordanian owner of the building, a senior Israeli security officer, and two workers, one of them the terrorist, were in the building at the the time.
The terrorist went behind the Israeli embassy’s deputy security officer and stabbed him with a screwdriver, lightly wounding him, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
The officer then defended himself and shot the terrorist, killing the assailant.
The Jordanian landlord was also killed. Initial Israeli reports indicate he was also stabbed by the terrorist, but now it appears he was caught in the cross-fire.
Arab sources report hearing a lot of gunfire. The embassy was then cordoned off.
The security officer was treated by embassy personnel and not transported to a Jordanian hospital, as foreign media reported.
The stabber’s father has called his son a martyr for Allah, while some foreign media sources said the Jordanian stabbed the officer over a fight about money.
PM Netanyahu spoke with Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Einat Shlain and the security officer last night. There was a cabinet meeting that discussed the attack and the Foreign Ministry opened various channels of discussion with Jordan.
The exit of Israeli embassy contingent from Jordan and even the embassy has been prohibited by Jordanian officials who wanted to interrogate the officer who has diplomatic immunity.
Update: As of 9 AM Monday, Jordan is still not allowing the Israeli embassy officials to leave the country or the embassy.
On Galei Tzahal radio it was reported that Jordan will only allow the embassy officials to leave the country if Jordan can interrogate the security officer. The idea was raised that Israel remove the metal detectors from the Temple Mount.
The Israeli government placed a media blackout on the story in Israel due to the diplomatic sensitivity of the event, even though it was reported in nearly all the major international foreign media outlets.
+++ heavy security presence around at after gunfire in the vicinity. Attacker has been killed pic.twitter.com/JToAj1UUO0
— Saji Assi (@assi_saji) July 23, 2017
80% of Jordanians self-identify as “Palestinians”.
Jordan has still not condemned the recent terror attack in which three Muslim men murdered two Israeli-Druze policemen on the Temple Mount.
In May 2016, a Jordanian national visiting the Old City of Jerusalem was killed after he attack a police officer. Jordan did not condemn that attack either.