AMMAN, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Jordanian police cordoned off an area in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy in the capital Amman after gunshots were heard, witnesses said on Sunday.
Two witnesses said police and ambulances rushed to the Rabiah neighborhood, where the embassy is located, after sporadic gunfire was heard.
Police called on residents to stay in their homes as security personnel conducted a search for the culprits, a security source said.
The area near the heavily policed embassy 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.
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 other side of the Jordan River.
Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel is widely unpopular among many citizens who see normalisation of relations as betraying the rights of their Palestinian compatriots.
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Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Jaidaa Taha; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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Suggested Topics:Middle EastIsrael and Hamas at War
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