IDF: Slain Jordanian attacked soldier with metal pole
MK Ahmad Tibi contests conclusion, calls on army to release video footage from incident
The Jordanian judge shot and killed by IDF forces at the Allenby border crossing Monday had attacked an Israeli soldier and tried to steal his weapon, according to the IDF.
“The preliminary conclusion of the investigation indicates that the terrorist attacked the soldier. He charged at the soldiers with a metal pole shouting ‘Allah Akbar,’ and then attempted to seize a soldier’s weapon, prompting the soldiers to respond by firing towards his lower extremities, in line with standard operating procedures,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The suspect then began to strangle a soldier and the force resorted to using live fire once again.”
Israel was reportedly making concerted diplomatic efforts Monday night to quell tensions with Jordan and was due to quickly pass the results of an investigation into the death of Raed Zeiter to Amman, according to a report by Israel Radio.
The results of the IDF investigation back up its earlier claims that Zeiter, an ethnic Palestinian who lived in Nablus until 2011, had attacked a soldier and attempted to grab his rifle, an account that Jordanian officials and even some in Israel were finding difficult to swallow.
Ta’al party leader MK Ahmad Tibi said that according to the witness testimony he’d heard, Zeiter was shot during an argument with a soldier, Israel Radio reported Tuesday. Tibi blamed the soldier for the man’s death and called on the IDF to release video footage from the incident.
News of the death sparked angry protests outside the Israeli Embassy in Amman on Monday evening, where about 200 people called for the expulsion of the ambassador and the cancellation of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty.
Riot police were able to control the crowds, according to embassy commissioner Haim Assaraf, who told Israel Radio that everyone at the mission was safe. Jordanian media reported earlier that the protesters had attempted to break into the embassy compound, and that staff were trapped inside for hours.
The Times of Israel Community.