Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Ayman Safadi said Jordan dealt with the Israeli embassy's crime, in accordance with international laws because it's a country that respects itself and respects international law and is part of the international community, while the Israeli action was unacceptable and shameful and they had to respect the law and deal with the matter as a crime.
In an interview with the UAE-based Sky News Arabia on Wednesday evening, the minister stressed that there were no deals regarding the Al-Haram Al-Sharif and what happened in the Israeli embassy, and no negotiations and deals regarding the criminal incident that occurred, as there were two Jordanian victims, and Jordan, from the very first moment, did everything it could to ensure a thorough investigation of what had happened.
He added: "We began the investigation but the circumstances were difficult, as the incident happened inside an embassy compound that has the same immunity the embassy enjoys, and the shooter is registered as a diplomatic officer. And according to the Vienna Convention, he enjoys full diplomatic immunity, which prevents him from being interrogated, but Jordan insisted on his presence in the embassy until his testimony is taken." He pointed out that the same international law that prevented Jordan from detaining the shooter and allowed him to leave provides the necessary legal tools to pursue the case and ensure the achievement of criminal justice. "Jordan will not give up and will do whatever is available and will adopt all means to ensure that justice is served, because Jordan's blood is valuable and we will defend it and do all we can," the minister underlined.
With regard to allowing the shooter to leave the Kingdom, Safadi said: "This is the diplomatic custom followed and these are the international laws that govern us and we respect international law, in our respect for the law, we have preserved our right to pursue the rights of our citizens." Safadi commented on the way Israel had received the killer and said: "Jordan has dealt with this unfortunate issue in accordance with international laws because Jordan is a country that respects itself and respects international law, and it is part of the international community and our actions reflect who we are and ensure our ability to pursue our rights, because applying the international law allows us to pursue the case." On the other side, Safadi said the Israeli actions were unacceptable, shameful and flawed and they should respect the law and treat the subject as a crime and deal with it as a criminal issue and allow the investigation to achieve justice.
He pointed out that the manner in which the diplomat issue was treated as if he was a prisoner and was released, was unacceptable, disrespectful and condemned behavior, and the populist-political employment of the diplomat' return to Israel was totally unacceptable because the whole world knows that his return was something imposed on Jordan in accordance with international law." Jordan was acting as a self-respecting nation, he said, adding that Israel acted as a state that tried to exploit this position and this is unacceptable and it must deal with this issue as it should, which is to offer its condolences and declare its commitment to cooperating to ensure achieving criminal justice.
On Jordan's efforts in dealing with the Al-Aqsa Mosque crisis, Safadi said they are ongoing and have started since outbreak of the crisis in the Al-Aqsa Mosque Safadi added that the Jordanian political stance and the diplomatic action, led continuously and clearly by His Majesty King Abdullah II, aim to end the crisis and restore calm to Jerusalem, through a solution that guarantees the cancellation of all unilateral measures imposed by Israel, respect for the historical and legal status of the Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram al-Sharif and restore the situation to what it was.
"Of course this includes removing the electronic gates and cameras and all other procedures," the minister noted.
"We are engaged in this diplomatic move, and so far there has been some progress, but the issue remains unresolved. The popular stance on the ground says that there is no solution but to remove all measures and obstacles that have been put in place," Safadi said.
He added: "Jordan wants calm, but knows that in order for the calm to prevail, the solution must be popularly accepted; hence, we continue our efforts in full and round-the-clock coordination with the brothers in the Palestinian National Authority, to reach a solution that would restore calm to Jerusalem, ensure the historical and legal status quo, respect the sanctity of holy sites and fully and immediately reopen the Al-Aqsa Mosque for worshipers." In response to a question, Safadi said: "We want a solution and we are working not only through direct political engagement with the Israelis, not only in coordination with the Palestinian brothers, but also in coordination with the Arab brothers. There is a meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League in Cairo upon Jordan’s request, on Thursday, to discuss Jerusalem and we are also in talks with the Americans and received the US President's envoy twice in two days." He added that His Majesty the King held several contacts, the latest of which was a phone call on Wednesday evening with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and prior to this call; extensive contacts and moves with all who have influence on the situation have been already been done, to restore calm to Jerusalem on the basis of ensuring respect for the historical and legal situation, and ensuring the sanctity of holy sites wouldn’t be harmed, in order to permanently restore calm and ensure the protection of holy sites and protect their security." "We remind everyone we talk to, that Jerusalem is not only a Palestinian-Jordanian issue," he said, adding that "Jerusalem is a Palestinian-Jordanian-Muslim-Arab issue, and tampering with Jerusalem is a provocation to the feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world." "If we don't restore calm to the holy city, we are putting ourselves in the face of a new wave of violence that will have catastrophic consequences for everyone," the minister warned.
On the U.S. position regarding the crisis in Jerusalem, Safadi noted that "We are engaged in talks with them so far and there are joint efforts with them and with the Palestinian side. Now there are Jordanian-American and Palestinian-American talks, and the Americans say they are working on a solution and we are working with them to find the solution needed." With regard to the Arab foreign ministers' meeting, the minister said: "There were logistical matters, and Jordan had called for a meeting on Sunday and it was necessary to coordinate with all the brothers in order to agree on a date, and there was a time when we felt that the largest number of Arab foreign ministers would be present, but the move started from the first day and the consultation started as well. We are continuing to work and everyone was hoping that a solution would be found to the crisis, because the longer the solution to the crisis is delayed, the greater the anger would be, which would have serious consequences for everyone."
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