After last night’s drama in which 2 Jordanians were shot after stabbing a guard with a screwdriver, 30 workers are still inside the embassy compound. Investigation of the stabbing showed the terrorist stabbed the guard twice with a screwdriver, once in the back and once in the chest. A senior Israeli official told Ynet: “There’s no doubt the young Jordanian was a terrorist who wanted to kill an Israeli.” He then pointed a finger to the Jordanians saying: “They know quite well that he was a terrorist but they are taking advantage of the Temple Mount unrest.”
Though the guard was wounded he overcame his pain and shot the terrorist. The guard was treated by a worker trained as a paramedic and didn’t need to be evacuated to a hospital.
The Jordanians asked the diplomats and security personnel not to leave the compound since the situation is unsafe to move them. They are in the embassy compound waiting for future developments. They are presently protected but that can change if the police lose control of the crowds as already happened at the Israeli Embassy in Cairo 6 years ago in the beginning of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings. There the workers were evacuated at the last moment.
There is contact on the diplomatic level including senior politicians and security people to reach a solution and end the crisis. The cabinet is supposed to meet at 2:00 PM to discuss the developments in this crisis and find a way out of this.
Israeli media theorizes that it’s quite possible that Netanyahu may order the removal of the magnetic gates from the temple Mount thereby ‘killing 2 birds with 1 stone’. He ends the crisis in Jordan and yet doesn’t look like he’s giving in to the Temple Mount riots. There is no confirmation that this is true though chances are Netanyahu will do it instead of confronting the Jordanians. Unfortunately it will still be perceived in the Arab world as giving into terror and will just pave the way for the next chance for violence which gets them their desired results.
There are reports from foreign diplomats and foreign media that the terrorist was an innocent citizen who worked in carpentry.” BBC has its characteristic whitewash of terror in its headlines: “Israeli 'kills attacker' at Jordan embassy.” Israel is furious with these reports calling them ‘deliberate and premeditated incitement with lies’. Israeli diplomats reiterate: “The Jordanians know the truth and are trying to take advantage of the situation to score points against Israel and to incite the masses.”