Jordan blasts Israel's killing of Arab protesters on Golan Heights
The Jordanian government on Monday condemned the killing of Arab protesters by Israeli troops on the Golan Heights over the weekend, dpa reported.
"Israel is applying double standards by preaching the values of democracy and freedom and at the same time giving orders to its forces to kill unarmed people who were protesting at the continued occupation of their land in violation of international law and UN resolutions," Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said in a statement.
At least 20 people were reportedly killed and scores wounded when Arab protesters approached the Israeli lines on the Golan Heights on Sunday to mark the 44th anniversary of occupation of the Syrian territory.
Judeh said growing Arab protests against Israeli occupation of Arab lands "reflected pessimism and frustration on the part of Arab peoples over Israel's obstinacy and failure to respond to serious world efforts" aimed at ending the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He said that "maintaining stability and real security in the Middle East lay in Israel's evacuation of all Arab lands it occupied in the 1967 war and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital."
