Israel’s new ambassador to Jordan arrived in Amman on Monday to officially take up his post at the embassy, which recently reopened after a 9-month closure due to the killing of two Jordanians by an Israeli security officer in July.
The newly-appointed ambassador, Amir Weissbrod, was appointed by Israel’s foreign ministry in February, as Jordan has rejected the return of the previous ambassador, Einat Schlein.
Sources at the Jordanian foreign ministry said that new ambassador would submit his credentials to the ministry’s secretary general in the two coming days, following which a date would be scheduled for the protocol procedures at the Royal Court.
Late last month, Jordan announced its readiness to receive Weissbrod after Israel’s foreign ministry named him as new ambassador in February.
In July 2017, Jordan closed the Israeli embassy after the killing of two Jordanian citizens by an Israeli embassy guard in an apartment belonging to the embassy in Amman. The country, at the time, strongly rejected the reaction of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who warmly greeted the murderer upon his arrival to Israel.
Amman allowed the employee to leave with the embassy staff as he enjoyed immunity, and his welcome reception in Israel sparked a wave of anger in Jordan.
The security guard, who has a diplomatic status, claimed that he had been stabbed by a Jordanian worker with a screwdriver that he used to install furniture in an apartment attached to the embassy, adding that the owner of the apartment was mistakenly killed. But the families of the victims denied the story.
Amman refused to allow the Israeli embassy staff to return to Jordan unless Israel opened a serious investigation into the case and brought the murderer to justice.
On January 18, a settlement was reached between Jordan and Israel, including Israel’s payment of compensation to the families of the victims, with a pledge to pursue legal proceedings against the security guard.
The Jordanian government announced that Israel had officially expressed its regret over the killing of the Jordanians.
