Two Jordanians die in shooting at Israeli embassy in Amman: security source

Two Jordanians die in shooting at Israeli embassy in Amman: security source
Mon Jul 24, 2017 09:02:01

Two Jordanians died from wounds inflicted during a shooting on Sunday in the compound of the heavily-guarded Israeli embassy that also wounded an Israeli, police and a security source said.

(reuters) -- Police said earlier that the two Jordanians worked for a furniture firm and entered the embassy compound before the shooting to do repairs. Police did not identify the wounded Israeli, and few other details were immediately available.

Israel has imposed a ban on reporting the incident and has made no public comment.

The fortress-like embassy in the affluent Rabae district of the capital Amman is protected by Jordanian gendarme. It has long been a flashpoint of anti-Israeli protests at times of turmoil in the Palestinian territories.

Violence against Israelis is rare in Jordan, a tightly policed country that is also a staunch regional ally of the United States and signed a peace treaty with Israel, the Arab neighbor with which it shares a long border.

But tensions have escalated between the two countries since Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem after two Israeli policemen were shot dead by three Arab-Israeli gunmen on Friday near the site.

The new security measures have triggered the bloodiest spate of Israeli-Palestinian violence for years.

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