Israel fumes as Jordan calls killing of Jerusalem attacker ‘heinous crime’

Jordan on Saturday said an Israeli policeman’s shooting and killing of a Jordanian assailant as he stabbed him repeatedly was “a heinous crime,” and demanded to receive details about the incident from the Israeli government.

“The Israeli government, which is the occupying force, bears responsibility for the shooting of a Jordanian citizen in occupied East Jerusalem which led to his martyrdom,” Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad Momani said in a statement.

“The government denounces this heinous crime…and has asked Israel to provide full details about it,” he added.

The Israeli government called the Jordanian reaction “outrageous,” saying it appeared to be backing the “terror attack” in Jerusalem.

“It’s time for Jordan to stop playing this double game,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “Just as Israel condemns terror attacks in Jordan, Jordan must condemn terror attacks in Israel. Terror is terror wherever it is.”

The assailant was earlier identified as Muhammad Abdullah Salim al-Kassji, a 57-year-old Jordanian citizen who had entered Israel several days ago.

A still from footage showing a police officer after he was stabbed by an assailant on Saturday, May 13, 2017 in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel police said the attacker, a Jordanian man, was shot and died of his wounds. The policeman was hospitalized with moderate injuries. (screen capture: Quds News Network/Twitter)

Police released security camera footage of the incident Saturday evening, in which the harrowing attack is seen as it occurred in the streets of the Old City. In it, the officer can be seen walking down the street when he is violently assailed by al-Kassji.

Watch the video of the attack above.

According to police, al-Kassji pulled a knife and stabbed the officer in the neck and head and was then shot dead by the victim.

The 37-year-old police officer was taken to Jerusalem’s Shaare Tzedek Medical Center in moderate condition after the incident near the Lions’ Gate.

He had wounds in the neck and head, and was conscious and in stable condition when evacuated to the hospital. A second man was lightly wounded, with cuts to the hand.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani. (Screen capture: YouTube)

Magen David Adom paramedics said they provided emergency treatment at the scene.

After the incident police arrested a local merchant who they suspected prevented passers-by from helping the policeman during the attack.

A video uploaded by the Palestinian Quds News Network (graphic) appeared to show the aftermath of the attack, with policemen attending to the injured officer and the attacker lying on the ground.