“The Justice Minister Hussein Megalli’s statement concerning Ahmad Dakamseh does not represent the attitude of the Jordanian government but rather reflects his own personal opinion which the atmosphere of freedom and democracy in the country entitles him to express,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Kayed said in a statement.

Dakamseh is currently serving a life imprisonment with hard labor for killing seven Israeli schoolgirls in March 1997, when he opened an automatic weapon on them as they visited Baqura, a scenic peninsula on the Jordan River.

Megalli, who took up his post last week as justice minister, told scores of activists who demonstrated in front of his ministry on Monday to demand Dakamseh’s release as he was “a hero who should not have been sent to jail.”

“If Dakamseh were an Israeli who killed Arabs they will have certainly set up a monument for him in appreciation of what he has done,” said Megalli defended Dakamseh in court and campaigned for his release since he was sentenced at the end of 1997.

According to Israeli media, the Israeli government protested Megalli’s remarks and approached the Jordanian government for an explanation.

“As Jordan is a country of institutions and rule of law, the government will comply with the rulings issued by the judiciary,” Kayed said.

He denied local media reports which suggested that Dakamseh’s release had been discussed by the cabinet, which was formed last week by Marouf Bakhit, a former ambassador to Israel, after the king sacked the government of former Premier Samir Rifai in response to three weeks of protests that swept the country.

Jordan and Israel are bound by a peace treaty which they concluded in 1994.