A gunman was dead and three policemen injured after a shooting near the Israeli embassy in neighbouring Jordan, a security source and state media said on
Sunday.
Police shot a gunman who had fired at a police patrol in the Rabiah neighbourhood of Amman, state news agency Petra reported, citing public security, adding investigations were ongoing.
Jordan’s government communications minister, Mohamed Momani, described the shooting as a terror attack that targeted public security forces in the country. He said in a statement that investigations into the attack were under way.
Jordanian police had earlier cordoned off an area near the heavily policed embassy after gunshots were heard, witnesses said. Two witnesses said police and ambulances rushed to the Rabiah neighbourhood, where the embassy is located.
Residents were advised to stay indoors as a search operation was mounted for possible accomplices of the gunman.
The area is a flashpoint for frequent demonstrations against Israel. The kingdom has witnessed some of the biggest peaceful rallies across the region as anti-Israel sentiment runs high over the war in Gaza.
Police had called on residents to stay in their homes as security personnel searched for the culprits, a security source said. Further investigations are underway.
Many of Jordan’s 12 million citizens are of Palestinian origin, they or their parents having been expelled or fled to Jordan in the fighting that accompanied the creation of Israel
in 1948. Many have family ties on the Israeli side of the Jordan River.
Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel is unpopular among many citizens who see normalisation of relations as betraying the rights of their Palestinian compatriots.
There is also growing concern that the election of Donald Trump to the White House may see dilution of Jordan’s position and importance given that it has had a peace treaty with Israel for many years.
But Trump is expected to place more importance on the UAE, which is in favour of normalising ties with the Jewish state in areas of finance, technology and trade, and is a signatory to the Abraham Accords.
With Reuters inputs
