AMMAN: The death of Tamer Al-Ajarmeh, the 12-year-old victim of a collapsed garage roof, has spiraled from a personal family tragedy into a political and legal controversy over Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel.

Islamist and other opposition groups have taken up the cause of Al-Ajarmeh, whose death they blame on Israel. Jordan’s professional associations, which represent hundreds of thousands of doctors, engineers, nurses, lawyers and others, have condemned what they described as “tame reaction” by the government. The pressure has prompted Jordanian authorities to launch a formal investigation into the death.

Few facts have been established about the case. What is known is that Al-Ajarmeh was playing with his cousin Bara somewhere on or near a tin roof covering a garage in the village of Naour, about 30 miles west of Amman late last month when the sound of a large explosion reverberated throughout the city, the Jordan Valley, and the northern part of the kingdom.

Many people assumed an earthquake hit the kingdom, but officials were quick to rule out the possibility. Local news agencies were awash with speculation over the source of the sound. Tamer’s mother said the two children were playing on top of the roof when it collapsed, while the father said they were playing under it.

Either way, Bara survived with some injuries, but Tamer succumbed to his wounds in an Amman hospital several days later. A police investigation said Al-Ajarmeh died of internal bleeding and a brain hemorrhage.

“As soon as the sound was heard, the house’s foundations shook and we heard the garage collapse. My boy was playing on the roof when it collapsed on him and his cousin, Bara,” recounted Mohammad Al-Ajarmeh, Tamer’s father and a member of an influential tribe in west Amman. “It can’t be a coincidence that the explosion occurred just before the roof collapsed.”

Government officials admit they are in the dark over the mysterious blast. Sources close to the government have said Israel detonated a 100-ton explosive late February as part of a military exercise, but they said it would be hard to link the blast to the incident.

“We don’t have any proof that Israel was behind the collapse of the house, although we are convinced it was a result of the explosion,” said a senior government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

But Tamer’s death rapidly emerged into a political cause linked to grievance over political and economic policies. Pictures of Tamer were carried by demonstrators in downtown Amman on March 4 as the opposition took a swipe at the government and the parliament over what they said was a tepid reaction to the death of a Jordanian.

“Al-Ajarmeh must be avenged. Where is justice?” read one banner raised by two young men from the boy’s hometown of Naour.

Abdullah Obeidat, president of the Jordan Engineers Association, said his group has also initiated an investigation into the impact of the explosion. Professional associations often serve as political platforms in Jordan and elsewhere in the Arab world, where political activity by parties and non-government organizations is restricted.

Last week, the prosecutor’s office for South Amman opened an investigation.

Activists have also linked the death of Al-Ajarmeh to Justice Minister Mjali’s demands to release Daqamseh, whose cause is a favorite among Islamists.

Daqamseh is serving a life sentence in a maximum security prison. The former Jordanian soldier opened fire on the schoolgirls while they were visiting the border territory of Baqoura, an area returned to Jordan under a 1994 peace accord but then leased back to Israel.

“This is the perfect occasion to have Daqamseh released,” said Obeidat. “After all, Israel shows lack of respect to the kingdom and the peace treaty through such provocative actions. We need to send a strong message by releasing this hero.”