Jordan king said to urge Israel to wrap up embassy shooting probe
Abdullah meets with Jewish community leaders in New York, highlights US role in restarting peace efforts
Stuart Winer is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel.
King Abdullah II of Jordan met Sunday with representatives of American Jewish organizations in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, reportedly chiding Israel over the pace of an investigation into a deadly shooting at the embassy in Amman in July.
Abdullah, who was accompanied by his wife Queen Raina, talked about efforts to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, stressing the important role US President Donald Trump and the US Jewish community play in the process, the royal court said in a statement.
According to the Israeli Walla news website, Abdullah also told the participants, who were not identified in the report, that Israel must conclude an investigation into the deadly shooting of one of its citizens by an Israeli embassy guard in Amman.
The guard, Ziv Moyal, was stabbed by a Jordanian on July 23, whereupon he shot and killed the attacker along with a bystander, sparking a diplomatic crisis between Jerusalem and Amman. The entire embassy staff returned to Israel a day later, ater intensive diplomatic efforts to gain the guard’s release.
Israel has launched a police probe into the deadly shooting but has yet to publicize its results.
A source who was present at the meeting quoted Abdullah as saying he was pressing Israel to end the procedure soon — whether it finds Moyal guilty or innocent, Walla reported Monday.
His Majesty King Abdullah II accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah meets with representatives of American Jewish organisations pic.twitter.com/MwZE9hcVDQ
— RHC (@RHCJO) September 17, 2017
Jordan has demanded that Israel bring the guard to trial before it will allow Jerusalem to send Ambassador Einat Schlein back to the country.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave Moyal a hero’s welcome when he arrived in Israel at the time, infuriating Abdullah, who said it was “unacceptable and provocative behavior.”
Shortly upon returning home, Moyal was questioned by Israeli authorities over the incident, in which he said 17-year-old Mohammed Jawawdeh stabbed him after learning that he was Israeli.
Jawawdeh, the son of a furniture store owner, was in the heavily fortified embassy residence installing a bedroom set at the time of the incident. The landlord, Bashar Hamarneh, was also hit by a bullet and later died of his wounds.
Moyal has reportedly rejected Jordanian claims that the incident was sparked by a dispute over furniture, saying he was attacked for “nationalistic” reasons.
Abdullah and Netanyahu are both in New York along with other world leaders for the annual UN General Assembly. Netanyahu is scheduled to address the Assembly on Tuesday.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
