The Jordanian Parliament on Wednesday opened a cabinet meeting with a moment of silence–not for the victims of Tuesday’s Jerusalem synagogue massacre, but in honor of the two Palestinian terrorists who carried out the attack, reports The Algemeiner.
Following the moment of silence, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh recited a prayer in memory of the “martyrs,” Uday and Rassan Abu-Jamal, terrorists who were killed by police after shooting and hacking to death four rabbis at prayer and a Druze police officer who heroically intervened.
MP Mohammed al-Ktatsh went so far as to demand that, in addition to the parliamentary memorial, the Parliament compose a letter condemning “the Zionist attacks on Jerusalem and its inhabitants after a ‘heroic act’ committed by the two east Jerusalem residents,” reports Ynet.
The memorial prayer for the terrorists followed a condemnation of terror attacks from Jordan’s official government spokesman Mohammad Al-Momani, who said, “Jordan condemns an attack on any citizen and condemns all acts of violence and terrorism that hurt civilians, whatever their origin.” Al-Momani did not specifically address the terrorist attack in the Jerusalem synagogue in his statements.
In fact, in addition to the condemnation, Al-Momani ordered Israel to stop all alleged unilateral steps and repeated attacks on the Temple Mount and al-Aqsa mosque.
Still, Jordan was one of the only Arab countries to officially condemn the Jerusalem terror attack, along with Bahrain.
Although Jordan and Israel have cordial relations at the highest levels, the Jordanian Parliament has a history of being highly critical of Israel and not sympathetic to Israel’s citizens. Members of Parliament frequently speak out against Israel and against the Israel-Jordan peace accords.
The deteriorating security situation and wave of Palestinian terror in Jerusalem in recent weeks have caused some friction between Israel and Jordan, primarily over unsubstantiated rumors claiming that Israel might change the religious status quo on the Temple Mount and al-Aqsa compound which, though in Jerusalem, are administered by Jordan.
King Abdullah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held a summit last week in Amman in an attempt to quell the situation.