Jordanian tweeps express fury over judge’s murder

AMMAN — Tweeps on Tuesday said the government should be involved in the investigation into the killing of Jordanian Judge Raed Zuaiter by Israeli troops, slamming the official response to the incident.

In several Twitter posts on Monday and Tuesday, Jordanians said the government should not simply accept the results of the Israeli investigation without being involved.

They said the government should take a firm stance on the murder of the judge at the King Hussein Bridge by Israeli soldiers on Monday, by expelling the Israeli ambassador and recalling Jordan’s ambassador from Tel Aviv.

“The Lower House and the government face a serious test at present and need to demonstrate a strong stand,” Safwat Haddadin (@SafwatHaddadin) tweeted Tuesday.

Maher Hmoud (@MaherHmoud1) said “killing a Jordanian judge by #Israel will pass, like many things do.”

“The weak government should be dissolved after the death of Zueiter,” Aya Alkam (@ayaalkam) tweeted.

Calls for expelling the Israeli ambassador from Amman, annulling the 1994 peace treaty with Israel as well as recalling the country’s ambassador from Tel Aviv went viral on Twitter as tweeps shared pictures of Zuaiter.

Hesham Shawa (@hkshawa) said there should be a joint investigation, adding that finding out what happened should be easy since there are surveillance cameras at the border crossing that can reveal what exactly happened.

Paying condolences to the family and relatives of the judge, tweeps dismissed the initial Israeli account of the incident as “nonsense”.

“Israel’s account of the story is imaginary and does not make any sense,” tweeted Ahmad Slem (@Slem-1987).

A preliminary investigation by the Israeli army claimed that the judge attempted to snatch a weapon and “strangle” a soldier, Agence France-Presse reported.

But Palestinian witnesses said the man was shot following an argument over a cigarette, the news agency reported.