Israeli embassy staff returns to Israel from Jordan

After a tense day of negotiations, Israel’s Amman-based embassy staff, including a wounded guard, were released from Jordan.

Israel’s embassy staff in Amman returned from Jordan on Monday night, hours after a telephone call between King Abdullah and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) head Nadav Argaman visited the Jordanian capital earlier in the day to facilitate an end to a tense situation.

After being stabbed Sunday night by a 17-year-old terrorist of Palestinian origin, the Israeli security guard at the embassy opened fire, killing the assailant. A Jordanian who was present at the time of the attack was inadvertently hit by the gunfire and later died.

A short statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said that the return of Israel’s diplomatic emissaries had been enabled thanks to “close cooperation between Israel and Jordan over the past day.”

During the phone call, the Jordanian monarch stressed the need for an immediate solution to the ongoing Temple Mount crisis and the resulting violence and deadly terror attacks in the Jewish state. According to Jordan’s Petra News Agency, he also called for the state of affairs at the compound to be restored to what it was prior to the outbreak of the crisis and to reopen the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

According to the report, King Abdullah “emphasized the necessity of removing measures adopted by the Israeli side since the outbreak of the crisis and the importance of agreeing on measures to prevent the recurrence of such escalation in the future, in a manner that ensures respect for the historical and legal status in Al-Haram al-Sharif [the Arabic name for the Temple Mount].”

What the report did not explain, however, was what was meant by the new Israeli measures. In fact, the IDF stationed metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount compound in response to the killing of two Israeli policeman at the site on July 14, in order to prevent further terror attacks.

“Netanyahu spoke a short time ago with Ambassador [Einat] Shlain,” who was serving in Jordan, “and the security guard, inquired after their well-being and welcomed them,” the Prime Minister’s media adviser said.

By: Ilan Evyatar/TPS and World Israel News Staff