WarSclerotic

The Israeli embassy in Amman is still on lockdown after last night’s incident involving a security guard who works at the compound and a 17-year-old Jordanian. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II are expected to speak today about the matter.

Source: Jordan threatens Israel with diplomatic actions | JerusalemOnline

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II Photo Credit: Kobi Gideon/GPO/Channel 2 News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan’s King Abdullah II are expected to speak over the phone today (Monday) in order to try to resolve the crisis brewing between the two countries. Various Israeli security officials are holding talks with their Jordanian counterparts also in an attempt to resolve the matter. Meanwhile, a Jordanian government official said that if Israel does not hand over the security guard who shot a 17-year-old who attacked him and apparently two others, Amman will take diplomatic action.

Last night, Israeli officials talked with the security guard and his coworkers, who are being kept at the embassy for the time being. As reported by JOL earlier today, the 17-year-old arrived at the apartment of the security guard, which is located near the embassy, in order to carry out carpentry work. It appears that a dispute broke out between the 17-year-old and either the security guard or the Jordanian apartment owner. The young Jordanian allegedly attacked some of the people in the apartment with a screwdriver before the security guard shot and neutralized him. He later succumbed to his wounds. The family of the assailant is demanding that the security guard stand trial and receive the death penalty.

The father of Mohammed Zakaria al-Jawawdeh, the 17-year-old, shared his version of the story. “We didn’t know they were Jews,” he said. “If we would have known this, we wouldn’t have let them enter the store.”

“He’s a young student,” the father continued, referring to his son. “We are in the middle of the summer vacation. The boy went with his friends to get money for work they did in a bedroom. There was a dispute between them and the man who was there. We didn’t know that they were armed.”

“Our son argued with this man and we don’t know if he slapped him or punched him,” the father told Jordanian media outlets. “But how do you draw your weapon and in cold blood shoot him. What is he? A bug? This is all of the truth, this is what happened and I hope our voice will reach the whole world.”

Jason Greenblatt will head to Israel to restart diplomatic process between Israel, Palestinians

BY: Adam Kredo
July 23, 2017 6:42 pm

Source: Top Trump Israel Envoy Heads to Israel After Terror Attacks

Senior Trump administration Israel adviser Jason Greenblatt will head to Israel Sunday evening, just days after violence broke out in Jerusalem and Palestinian terrorists killed several Israel citizens, according to senior Trump administration officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon.

Greenblatt will head to Israel in a bid to restart the diplomatic process between Israel and the Palestinians, just a day after the Palestinian government and various factions broke all formal ties with Israel.

The move is a response to calls from various U.S. and Israeli factions that have criticized the Trump administration for not doing enough to maintain cordial relations between the sides.

Violence recently broke out on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, the site of several Muslim holy sites. Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli security officials on the Temple Mount last week, prompting increased security measures that only further stoked tensions among the Palestinians.

On Friday, after Palestinian leaders called for a “day of rage” against Israel, a Palestinian terrorist killed three Jews and severely wounded one other in a stabbing attack.

The Trump administration, through Greenblatt, is trying to stem the violence and restart talks between the sides, which had bore fruit in recent weeks with the announcement that Israel would help boost the Palestinian electric supply and engage in major effort to share water—agreements that were both inked with the help of Trump administration mediation.

One senior Trump administration official told the Free Beacon that Greenblatt’s travel to Israel is meant to help resolve outstanding issues surrounding the Temple Mount. The administration believes that factions on the ground opposing peace talks incited this violence to derail the recent goodwill efforts.

“This is the president’s way of issuing American support for the discussions to resolve security issues on the Temple Mount,” the official said. “This appalling violence both on the Temple Mount and on this Israeli family is a clear escalation. This is somebody trying to undermine the process.”

“This is direct engagement by Trump’s representative to address the horrific attack,” which administration official viewed as a potential “game changer. The administration needs “to be directly engaged with parties,” the source said.

The recent violence has only undermined recent progress in the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, according to administration sources, who said Greenblatt is aiming to help mitigate tensions and ensure efforts to improve the lives of Palestinians move forward.

July 23, 2017

Source: Senior Israeli ministers demand death penalty for terrorist who slaughtered family | World Israel News

Defense Minister Liberman (L) and IDF Chief of Staff Eisenkot at site of Halamish terror attack. (Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense)

Two senior ministers are demanding that the terrorist who slaughtered three civilians in their home in Samaria be put to death.  

Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett, chairman of the Jewish Home party, has called on the IDF’s prosecution to demand the death penalty for Omar al-Abed, the Palestinian terrorist who butchered three family members in their home on Friday night.

Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman concurred with Bennett’s call to have al-Abed executed.

“The option of the death penalty exists in military courts. There is no need for special legislation; only a request [for it in court]. I call on the military prosecution to demand the death penalty for the terrorist who murdered the Salomon family,” Bennett stated after visiting the family’s home.

“In such an extreme case, there is indeed room to impose the death penalty and that is within the jurisdiction of the Judea and Samaria military courts,” Liberman told Ynet  on Sunday. Liberman has long supported the death penalty for Palestinian terrorists.

Omar al-Abed, a 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist, stabbed three family members to death Friday evening in the Jewish community of Neve Tsuf (aka Halamish) in Samaria. The vicious murder occurred as the family was enjoying their Shabbat meal and celebrating the birth of a new grandson.

A soldier on home leave who heard the commotion rushed to the scene and shot and wounded the terrorist. He was treated for an abdominal wound and then was turned over to Israeli security forces.

The victims are Yosef Salomon (70) and his children Chaya Salomon, 46, and Elad Salomon, 36. Yosef’s wife Tova, 68, was seriously wounded and underwent surgery at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

As for immediate actions taken against the terrorist and his family, Liberman said the terrorist’s home will be demolished and his extended family’s works permits in Israel will be revoked.

Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home party likewise tweeted that “the murderers of children and families deserve the death penalty. Such a punishment exists in the military court with a unanimous decision by the judges. This is an incident that demands the death penalty for the murderer.”

Her tweet was a response to Bennett’s statement.

Israel has rarely used the death sentence, and its only execution was of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann.

By: World Israel News Staff