Suspected body of Jordanian soldier unearthed in Jerusalem

Investigators believe that the body belonged to a Jordanian soldier who was killed during clashes with the IDF during the Six Day War.

By Tobias Siegal, World Israel News

Human remains believed to belong to a Jordanian soldier were unearthed in Jerusalem on Wednesday, N12 first reported on Thursday.

Construction workers digging at the light rail site in the capital did not expect to find a body under the rubble.

Next to the body, investigators later found a knife, a ring, a hand watch and a helmet belonging to the Jordanian army.

Currently, investigators believe that the body belonged to a Jordanian soldier who was killed during clashes with the IDF during the Six Day War, which took place between June 5-10, 1967, and was fought between the young State of Israel and an Arab coalition primarily comprising Jordan, Syria and the United Arb Republic led by Egypt.

The body was found near Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site, a former Jordanian military post up until 1967. It is the site of what many consider to be one of the fiercest battles to take place during the Six Day War.

The entire construction site was shut down following the unexpected discovery and a team of forensic scientists and archaeologists was dispatched to the scene.

The team will search for additional items in the surrounding area that may shed more light on he identity of the mysterious body.

The body itself is being held by the Jerusalem District of the Israel Police until the investigation is completed.

The Foreign Ministry has reportedly been updated about the incident and is waiting for a definite confirmation before updating Jordanian authorities.

Katri Maoz, site manager of the Ammunition Hill National Memorial Site, published the exciting findings in a Facebook post.

“It’s an exciting moment. We are clearly touching history,” Maoz wrote, noting that a sign at the site written by Israeli paratroopers after the war reads: “Here are buried brave Jordanian soldiers.”

“I have no doubt that [this John Doe] will join the list” of brave soldiers buried here, he concluded.