Jordan today notified members of the Jerusalem consular corps that they would no longer be given unquestioned passage to and from the Old City. From now on all consulate officers will be required to obtain passes, a development which diplomats are expected to protest.
The move is believed to be in retaliation for a decision by the consular corps not to cross from the Jewish part of the city to the Old City at night. The decision followed upon indiscriminate firing by Jordanian troops on United Nations and consular vehicles last Wednesday night. The cars were forced to return to Israel after starting through the Mandelbaum Gate into the Jordan-held section.
After representations by the UN, the Jordanian delegate to the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission reported that an officer and two soldiers had been arrested for their part in the shooting. However, firing continued and the Jordanians later charged that Israelis had opened fire.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
