Embassy killings fuel Jordan-Israel tensions

Two days after an Israeli Embassy guard shot and killed two Jordanians on July 23 in what appeared to be an argument over the installation of bedroom furniture at the assailant’s apartment, a talk-show guest on Jordan’s government-run TV station described Israel as “the usurper Zionist entity." Public acrimony against Israel has transcended even the usual scorn often directed at the Jewish state that one can hear on private TV and radio stations and read on social media platforms and local news websites.

Anti-Israel rhetoric had been building up since a crisis at Haram al-Sharif in occupied East Jerusalem erupted on July 14 following a deadly shooting in the compound. Israel’s two-day closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque, an event that last occurred in 1969, and its subsequent installing of metal detectors at the gates of the holy compound, had enraged Palestinians but also infuriated Jordanians, almost half of whom have Palestinian roots.

Repeated interventions by senior Jordanian officials, including King Abdullah himself, had failed to dislodge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position. Clashes in the Old City of Jerusalem between angry Palestinians and Israeli soldiers had continued on a daily basis since July 21, when Jordan’s administered Waqf (endowment) Department — which is responsible for Muslim shrines in East Jerusalem — refused to enter the compound until Israel had removed the metal detectors and all other restrictions. By July 23, at least three Palestinians and three Israeli settlers were killed in separate incidents.

Jordan’s efforts to resolve the crisis in Jerusalem seemed ineffective. Israeli actions were seen as driven by hard-line ministers in Netanyahu’s government who contested Jordan’s special role in overseeing Muslim shrines in Haram al-Sharif and were pushing to allow Jewish prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is also sacred to Jews, who call it the Temple Mount.