Thursday, 15 September 2011

Israelis pull out envoys from Jordan

Demonstrators outside the US embassy in Amman on September 14 protest against the US policies in the Middle East. STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Protest group's motto is "No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land"Move comes a day early in anticipation of an anti-Israeli protestAll but a skeleton staff has been sent homeThey are expected to be back at work on SundayRELATED TOPICSIsraelAmman (Jordan) Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli Embassy in Amman on Thursday sent home all but a skeleton staff due to security considerations, an Israeli Foreign Ministry official told CNN.

The official, who asked not to be identified, in keeping with diplomatic protocol, said the staffers typically travel from Amman to Israel every Friday and Saturday. They were sent home a day early this week after last week's ransacking of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo by protesters and plans for anti-Israel protests this week in Amman.

Thursday's demonstration was slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. near the embassy.

The full embassy staff is expected to return Sunday to work in Amman.

Anti-Israel demonstrations have been taking place in Amman for the past several weeks. With more than 3,000 members on its Facebook page, the group "Million Man March to Close the Israeli Embassy in Jordan" has organized such protests for the past several weeks. Its motto: "No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land."

"Our hope is to avoid any spillover into the larger region," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Monday in Washington. "The Egyptian government has made clear that they regret this, that they are taking steps. They did take steps. So we are hoping that it was indeed an isolated incident."



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