AMMAN: Israel has apologized for the killing of two Jordanians at its embassy in Amman and agreed to investigate their deaths.
The two men were shot dead by an Israeli security guard at the embassy compound in July. The embassy has been shut ever since.
Jordan’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had received a letter from the Israeli government offering a “deep apology and regret” for the killings.
“Israel has accepted all of the demands of Jordan. It agreed to legally investigate the embassy case, sent an apology and has agreed to pay compensation to the families of those killed,” government spokesman Mohammad Momani said.
Momani said the families have accepted the apology and agreed to an offer of compensation for their relatives' deaths. No details were made available of how much.
The shooting killed Bashar Hamarneh, the landlord of a house at the embassy complex and a young furniture repair man Mohammad Jawwadeh.
Israel said the guard had been defending himself after Jawawdah attacked him with a screwdriver.
Jordan denied the claim and was infuriated when Israel refused to allow Jordanian police to interview the shooter, sparking a diplomatic standoff.
The killer returned to Israel under diplomatic immunity and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted him with a hug.
The Israeli letter also included an offer to compensate the family of Raed Zuieta, a Jordanian judge killed at the King Hussein bridge in March 2014.
Israel expressed its desire to renew relations with Jordan, Momani said. The Jordanian government will take the appropriate steps in “the higher interests” of Jordan, he added.
Khalil Atiyeh, deputy speaker at the Jordanian Parliament, told Arab News that the Israelis folded under pressure.
“The pressure from the King backed by the popular demands forced the Zionists to accept the need to abide by international law and respect the wishes of the Jordanian people,” he said.
Atiyeh, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, said that this is a “victory for Jordan and for King Abdullah.”
Israel apologizes for killing of two Jordanians at embassy: Jordan FM
Israel apologizes for killing of two Jordanians at embassy: Jordan FM
First responders enter devastated Aleppo neighborhood after days of deadly fighting
- The US-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Daesh group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria’s national army
ALEPPO, Syria: First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The US-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Daesh group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria’s national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid Al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
