AMMAN, 6 September 2006 — The attack on a group of Western tourists in Jordan on Monday should be condemned by all standards as an act of terrorism, but the blind support to Israel by the United States and other Western powers “should bear the blame” for the expanding extremism in the Middle East, renowned analysts said yesterday.
They told Arab News that terrorism and extremism had received a “heavy dose” during the 33-day war in Lebanon as the Arab and Islamic world watched the United States, Britain and other influential countries oppose a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militias, pending the achievement of military successes by the Jewish state.
“There should be no justification for such crimes like that which took place in Jordan yesterday,” said Oraib Rentawi, director of the Amman-based Jerusalem Center for Political Studies. “However, we cannot dissociate such deeds from the general atmosphere of frustration, anger and the feeling of humiliation that dominates the Arab and Islamic worlds as a result of the Israeli practices and the West’s blind backing to the Jewish state,” he added.
A Jordanian gunman opened fire on Monday at a group of tourists at downtown Amman’s Roman amphitheater, killing a British citizen and wounding five other Westerners. The attacker, Nabil Ahmed Jaourah, was arrested and is being interrogated by the security authorities to know his motives and whether he has links with any terror cells.
Officials said that the investigations so far showed that the incident was an isolated one and that the culprit acted independently of any network.
Rentawi and other Arab analysts referred to Israel’s daily killing of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as well as what was widely perceived in the Arab world as “massacres” committed by Israel in Lebanon in July and August. These viewpoints were to a large extent shared by Ghazi Rababaa, professor of Political Science at the University of Jordan. “All forms of violence against civilians should be condemned regardless of justifications,” he said.
