A terrorist from Jordan murdered three Israeli civilians at the border crossing between the two countries on Sunday, raising concern about yet another front in the regional war with Iran and its terror proxies. According to the official IDF feed on X (formerly Twitter), the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge border crossing via truck from the Jordanian side and opened fire at Israeli security forces. The shooter was killed, as were Israelis Yuri Birnbaum, Yohanan Shchori and Adrian Marcelo Podsmesser.
A post in Arabic to X by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry, as translated by Google, said the shooter acted alone. The unusual attack by a citizen of a key Israeli ally comes as the Jewish State is already at war with Iran and six other Iranian proxies and allies, including Hamas in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alluded to this broader threat in Sunday’s Cabinet meeting.
“This is a difficult day. An abhorrent terrorist murdered three of our citizens in cold blood at the Allenby Bridge. On behalf of the Government and myself, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered,” said Netanyahu in comments published by his office.
“We are surrounded by a murderous ideology led by Iran’s axis of evil… The murderers do not differentiate between us. They want to murder us all, right and left, secular and religious, Jews and non-Jews, until the last one.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was even more direct in commenting on the attack, shifting from condolences to the Iranian threat in a Hebrew post to X translated by Google: “Faced with the Iranian attempts to spread terrorism to our borders and territory—we are increasing our actions and taking the initiative to thwart terrorism in Judea, Samaria and the eastern border, and are ready to thwart this effort in every arena—near and far.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s main ally in the United States released an unusually subdued statement on the attack. US Ambassador Jack Lew, in a post to X, expressed condolences for those killed “in a terrorist attack”, but issued no formal condemnation on the assault before shifting to other topics such as the Gaza hostage negotiations.
The tepid comments from the US may in part stem from the delicate but critical role Jordan plays in the region. While officially at peace with Israel and a key ally of the West, Jordan also has historically had strong anti-Israel sentiment in its country and even among members of its government. Middle East security analyst and author Seth Frantzman, while calling the attack at the Jordan border “rare”, went on to analyze Jordan’s complicated relationship with Israel in a series of posts on X.
“The Kingdom has not done enough to condemn the October 7 attack and spread messages of moderation; instead it has often sought to balance incitement and inflaming the situation with appeals to its backers in the West, which results in the local population getting one message and those abroad another message,” said Frantzman.
While Jordan has “always balanced this challenge,” the government’s actions have led to the threat of radicalization in the country and then subsequent appeasement of radicals according to Frantzman. He later noted that “overall the terror threat from Jordan has been low and the Kingdom’s security service is very good. But over the last decade there have been concerning incidents. This includes Iran’s attempt to spread extremism and chaos in the Kingdom and also use the area for smuggling.”
Jordan reinforced this image on Sunday with a weak statement in the Foreign Ministry’s post on X on the attack, referencing the nation’s “firm position in rejecting and condemning violence and targeting civilians for any reason, and calling for addressing all causes and escalatory steps that generate it.” The statement effectively implied Israel was to blame for the attack by ending with a “repeated warning” about the “consequences” of Israel’s war in Gaza and counterterrorism in the Judea and Samaria region that Jordan calls the “West Bank.”
In the midst of this complex interregional crisis, Israeli President Isaac Herzog underscored his nation’s resilience. “The peace agreements between Israel and its neighbors are a cornerstone of stability in the region, and we trust all parties will thoroughly investigate the incident and work to prevent future attacks,” Herzog said in his comments published by Israel.
He added, “This horrific act reinforces our resolve to stand firm in the face of terror, and we will continue to fight with determination against terrorism and extremist elements which seek to undermine our security, and the stability of the whole region.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, September 8, 2024)