Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur refused to cave in to Islamist demands that he recall Jordan’s ambassador to Israel over the shooting of terrorist Raed Zeiter. The parliamentary bloc held a vote of no confidence, which Nsur – and the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty – survived.
Jordan’s Prime Minister rejected the possibility that his country would cut ties with Israel and expel the Israeli ambassador from Amman, as demanded by Islamists. In fact, he reasserted his commitment to the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, which has been honored by both sides since 1994.
“If we go ahead with such moves, Jordan will face repercussions that would go beyond our sorrows… It will also affect Jordan’s abilities concerning the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks,” Prime Minister Abdullah Nsur said.
Placing total responsibility on the Israeli government for the killing, Nsur nevertheless acknowledged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explanation of events as well as an invitation to investigate the incident.
“Israel regrets the death of Judge Raed Zeiter yesterday at the King Hussein bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan,” Netanyahu declared.
Nsur also referred to a statement that King Abdullah had “received a telephone call from [Shimon] Peres who, as president of the State of Israel, apologized for the martyrdom of Jordanian Judge Raed Zeiter. Peres expressed his regrets for the incident and said he was deeply affected. He said Israel is committed to working together with Jordan on the probe into the incident.”
Following through on their threats, Islamist parties inside the Jordanian parliament conducted a no-confidence vote, which was rejected. The 150-member lower house voted in favor of Nsur by an 81-29 margin, with 20 abstentions and 20 absentees.
On March 10, IDF soldiers charged with securing the Israel-Jordan border crossing began a routine security check on a bus headed for Nablus (Shechem), carrying dozens of Palestinians. At the checkpoint, soldiers surveyed the bus, using a mirrored rod while evaluating the passengers. At a certain point, Raed Zeiter, a Jordanian judge of Palestinian ethnicity, charged at the soldiers with a metal pole, shouting Allahu Akbar (God is great); in self-defense, the soldiers fired at his legs. Zeiter continued his assault until fatally shot.
“I’ve traveled through that crossing many times, and the Israelis are usually very professional. I don’t know how someone could be shot there, without any reason,” said Rafat Tarawneh, a Jordanian lawyer.
Opposition Islamist MPs demanded revenge, calling for the pardon of Ahmad Dakamseh, a Jordanian soldier who, in 1997, opened fire on a group of Israeli schoolgirls as they visited a scenic peninsula on the Jordan River, killing seven and wounding five. He is serving a life sentence.
Islamist parties gave the government until Tuesday to meet their demands before initiating the no-confidence vote.
Author: Daniel Fine, Contributor, United with Israel
Date: Mar. 19, 2014
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