(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi on Wednesday laid to rest all speculation about any deal that Jordan may have struck with Israel over the killing of two Jordanian nationals, stressing that the Kingdom did not allow the Israeli embassy staffer who killed the two on Sunday to leave before giving his statement to interrogators.
Speaking at a joint press conference at the Prime Ministry, Minister of State for Legal Affairs Bisher Khasawneh said that Jordan dealt with the embassy case in accordance with international law, a stand the Kingdom has consistently adopted.
The officials' statements about why the Israeli guard was allowed to leave the country — he had made his deposition on the circumstances that led to the killing of the two Jordanians — were clear and forthright.
They stressed that it was the diplomatic status of the killer that determined the Jordanian stand on the situation, but, as Minister of State for Media Affairs and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said, all concerned agencies are following up on the case to reach suitable decisions that would be in line with Jordan's interests and justice principles.
The Israeli guard in question does have diplomatic immunity, as unfair as this may seem, so Jordan had no choice but to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) to which it is a party.
If anything is wrong with the whole issue, it is the treaty on diplomatic immunity that seems to be in need of a review.
As for Al Aqsa Mosque, whatever Israel did to improve the situation there, it did independently of the killings in Amman.
Jordan would never put a higher premium on a political or security settlement, even at Al Aqsa Mosque, than on the life of its citizens, particularly like the two who were killed in cold blood by an Israeli guard.
Jordan did all that it could do in the case, and will pursue it, for the sake of justice for the families of the dead and of the public in general.
Israel is consistently acting with impunity, considering itself above the law.
The cold-blooded crime perpetrated by one of its citizens on Jordanian soil cannot be overlooked. The guilty has to stand trial and receive the deserved punishment.
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