Jordan mourners chant 'death to Israel' after embassy shooting of teenager

Thousands protested in Jordan on Tuesday during the funeral of a teenager killed by an Israeli security guard at Israel's embassy in Amman.
2 min read
25 July, 2017
Mourners carry the body of 17-year-old Mohammed Jawawdeh [Getty]
Thousands protested in Jordan on Tuesday during the funeral of a teenager killed by a security guard at Israel's embassy in Amman.

Mohammed Jawawdeh, 17, was shot dead late on Sunday after allegedly attacking the Israeli security guard with a screwdriver.

A Jordanian doctor was also killed accidentally during the incident.

The killings caused a diplomatic crisis between Israel and Jordan at a time of rising tensions around security restrictions at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

Mourners set off with Jawawdeh's coffin from Wihdat, home to a large Palestinian refugee camp east of Amman, towards a cemetery nearby where he was buried.

Crowds carried pictures of the teenager along with Palestinian and Jordanian flags, chanting "Death to Israel" and "We will go to Jerusalem as martyrs by the millions".

Jawawdeh's uncle said the family is urging Jordan's King Abdullah to avenge his nephew's death "because he is the one who can decide in such matters".

"Mohammed's blood did not flow in vain," he added, saying the killings paved the way for Israel to remove metal detectors put up last week at the Haram al-Sharif compound.

Demonstrators at the funeral also urged their government to close the Israeli embassy in Amman and scrap an unpopular peace treaty signed in 1994.

On Monday, the Israeli security guard and other diplomats flew home after being questioned by Jordanian investigators.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told a news conference on Tuesday that Jordan did not strike "deals" or hold "negotiations" with Israel over the shooting.

He said the government had been intent on questioning the Israeli guard before allowing him to leave the country, "and despite his diplomatic immunity we were able to reach an agreement to take his deposition".

Jordan will pursue the investigation until "the truth is reached and justice is done", said Safadi.

Jordanian riot police were deployed on Tuesday around the Israeli embassy in a west Amman after activists posted online calls for an anti-Israel demonstration.