Jordanian king vows 'not to give up' seeking justice for slain citizens
King Abdullah of Jordan held a press conference in which he said 'all efforts will be made to ensure a just trial' involving the Israeli security guard who shot two Jordanians dead.
By YASSER OKBI/ MAARIV HASHAVUAUpdated: JULY 29, 2017 21:09Jordan's King Abdullah attend a joint news conference following a meeting with the French president at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 19, 2017. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Jordanian King Abdullah vowed that Jordan "will not give up" the rights of two citizens killed by an Israeli security guard at the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan last week.Abdullah made the comments during a meeting with leading members of the press in his country on Saturday. The two Jordanian citizens, one being the alleged attacker and the other a bystander, were shot dead by an Israeli embassy security guard who claimed to have acted in self defense during an incident at Israel's Amman embassy. The incident lead to Israel demanding that Jordan respect the diplomatic immunity of diplomatic mission staff and Jordan demanding the Jordanian police be allowed into the Israeli embassy to look into the matter. Eventually, the entire Israeli mission, guard included, were allowed to leave Jordan. Following that the security arrangements at Temple Mount had been changed back to the situation preceding the terrorist attack in which two Israeli police officers had been shot dead by terrorists who hid in the sacred compound. Israeli police chased the attackers into their hiding place and shot them dead.
King Abdullah referred to the al-Aksa crisis and said that he speaks about this issue at every opportunity. "No voice on this issue is like the Jordanian voice," said the monarch who claimed that his country is "preventing the Judaization of the holy places." He congratulated the people of Jerusalem for their strong resolve and said that Jordan will continue to guard the holy places "for Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem." The king called on all parties involved to maintain open channels of communication to maintain the status quo in Jerusalem.