Israeli minister cancels Jordan visit after stabbing
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis tells Army Radio he will be skipping an Amman accelerator launch over Jordan's reaction to one of its citizens who stabbed an Israeli policeman before being shot dead; 'Peace with Jordan is very important but standing up for the truth is more important than anything.'
An Israeli Cabinet minister has called off a long-planned visit to Jordan for a joint scientific venture following a spat between the countries after an Israeli officer shot dead a terrorist who stabbed and moderately wounded him in Jerusalem on Saturday.
Science and Technology Minister Ofir Akunis says he is skipping Tuesday's event in Amman marking the launching of the "Sesame" particle accelerator because of Jordan's reaction to the incident, in which the government stated that it held Israel responsible for the killing of the terrorist, who was later identified as Mohammad Abdullah Salim al-Kasji, a 57-year-old Jordanian citizen.
Video footage showed the 57-year-old man repeatedly swiping a knife at the officer in the Old City of Jerusalem before knocking him to the ground, in what Israel described as part of a wave of stabbing attacks against Israeli forces over the past two years.
It said the attacker entered Israel on a tourist visa and the officer shot the attacker in self-defense.
Jordan said it holds Israel responsible for killing its citizen and denounced it a "crime." The Israeli government called the Jordanian reaction "outrageous," with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office calling on Jordan to cease playing a "double game" and condemn terror everywhere.
Akunis told Israel's Army Radio his diplomatic protest is the minimal response to the incident.
"The scientific project is important, the peace with Jordan is very important but standing up for the truth is more important than anything," he said.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday that Jordan "will confront all kinds of terrorism," but did not refer to the Israeli comments.
