This is the first time since October 7, 2023. On Sunday, September 8, a Jordanian citizen carried out an attack against Israeli security guards at the Allenby crossing, which spans the Jordan River. This terminal is vital for Palestinians in the West Bank, since, controlled by the Jewish State, it is the only one connecting this occupied territory with Jordan. It therefore constitutes the only access route for this population to the rest of the world.
A man named Maher Al-Jazi approached the Israeli side of the terminal early Sunday morning. Before reaching there, he had to pass through Jordanian checkpoints. He was aboard a truck. He got out once the vehicle was parked in the queue dedicated to checking Israelis; he immediately opened fire with a pistol, seriously wounding three Israeli security guards assigned to control this part of Allenby. All three men, the oldest of whom was 65, were killed. The shooter was also killed. Jordan’s Petra news agency said he was a driver believed to be delivering goods to the West Bank. The Allenby crossing was immediately closed.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, through press releases, demonstrated their support for this action, without claiming authorship, describing it as “natural response” (…) for the actions of the Israeli army in Gaza, West Bank »but also as a consequence “Israelis plan to move and Judaize Al-Aqsa mosque”.
These latter terms refer to the Jewish prayers held periodically on the Esplanade des Mosques in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, while the status quo, in force since the conquest of the Old City by Israel in 1967, prohibits the use of religious material.
On August 13, several hundred Israelis took part in a prayer at this sensitive site, at the initiative of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right settler who is used to such provocations. Such actions are likely to inflame tempers, but in the West Bank, as in East Jerusalem, restraint has been evident and no protests have been reported.
“The atmosphere in Jordan poisoned by the war in Gaza”
Jordan’s Interior Ministry announced Sunday evening that its preliminary investigation indicated that the suspected attacker, Maher Al-Jazi, was from the kingdom’s marginalized and rebel-held south. The ministry said the attack was an isolated incident.
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