Amman (Al-Ittihad, agencies)
The Jordanian Ministry of Interior announced yesterday that initial investigations into the attack that took place near the King Hussein Bridge border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan earlier yesterday, which resulted in the deaths of three Israelis, indicate that the shooter is a Jordanian named Maher Diab Hussein Al-Jazi, a resident of the Al-Husseiniya area in Ma’an Governorate, and that he was crossing the bridge in a cargo vehicle carrying commercial goods from Jordan to the West Bank.
She added, in a statement published by the Jordanian News Agency “Petra”, that the initial results of the investigation indicate that the incident was an individual act, and that investigations are ongoing to reach all the details of the incident, noting coordination between the concerned parties to receive the body of the perpetrator of the operation for burial in Jordan.
The Ministry of Interior confirmed the release of all Jordanian drivers who were investigated after the accident, and more than 100 trucks returned to the Kingdom in succession throughout the day, noting that the concerned authorities are following up on the issue of closing the crossing after the accident.
The Israeli authorities announced the reopening of the border crossings with Jordan to pedestrians, after they were closed earlier yesterday, following the attack.
The Israel Airports Authority, which is responsible for managing land crossings, reported that the Araba crossing and the Jordan River crossing were reopened for the passage of passengers only, without allowing the passage of goods.
The Authority confirmed that the King Hussein Bridge crossing, located near Jericho in the West Bank, will be opened, and will also be limited to the passage of travelers.
The Israeli army announced that an armed man arrived at the crossing area in a truck that he was driving from the Jordanian side.
He explained in a statement that “the driver got out of the truck and opened fire on Israeli forces working on the bridge.”
The army added in its statement that “three Israelis were killed as a result of the attack,” before later clarifying to Agence France-Presse that the dead were civilians working as “security guards” and not from the army or police.
The Israeli army confirmed that the attacker was shot dead, without revealing his name or nationality.
The attack took place at the King Hussein Crossing, also known as the Allenby Bridge, a border crossing used mainly by Palestinians to travel to and from Jordan. The crossing is manned by private security guards alongside Israeli security forces.
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