The father of one of the arrested Israelis says a Palestinian police officer, originally from Jenin, was taking revenge for administrative arrests in Israel by falsely accusing the 3 of posing as a ‘security’ threat.

By Ynet reporters

Two Israelis and a British national were arrested in Jordan on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday. According to some reports, the three were released on house arrest at a hotel in Amman, while other reports say they are still in custody.

Israeli tourist in Jordan – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The three arrived to the Hashemite Kingdom on Monday to travel the country, relatives of one of them, a man in his 40s from the Sharon plain, told Ynet.

Itzik, the father of the second Israeli, a 25-year-old student, said his son and another friend joined a 50-year-old English friend of his to a trip to Jordan.

“Before he left for Jordan, I suggested my son and another friend go with him, because they know the Middle Eastern mentality and could get by okay there,” he said.

The English friend is a collector of Iraqi currency and sought to buy some Iraqi dinars while in Amman.

“They bought 25 Iraqi dinars in bills, paid, received a receipt and went back to the hotel. At the hotel’s entrance, security asked them to open their bags but they refused. The hotel management called the police, and this is how they got into trouble,” Itzik continued.

After a long interrogation, the three were brought in front of a judge.

“The judge told the cops they have nothing on them, and ordered their immediate release. So one of the police officers changed his version of events and said they were posing a security risk, and got the Jordanian intelligence involved,” Itzik said.

“One of the officers there, according to what I was told, has a family that originally comes from Jenin and he decided to take revenge. They heard about the administrative arrests in Israel and decided to take revenge,” he added.

Touring Jordan – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

The worried father, who left for Jordan, has informed the IDF Military Advocate General, General Danny Efroni, of what had happened. Efroni then briefed the Foreign Ministry, which has been trying to act on behalf of the two Israelis, to no avail so far.

“I think if the Jordanian king knew what the policemen did he’d be shocked. If we thought Jordan was a state of law, it turns out a police officer is above the law and above judges and can do whatever he wants,” Itzik said. “We’re waiting for this investigation to end and for this saga to conclude.”

The Foreign Ministry said the three were represented by local attorneys, and that the Israeli Embassy in Amman was monitoring the situation closely.

Elior Levy, Itay Blumental, Attila Somfalvi and Yoav Zitun contributed to this report.

View original Ynet publication at: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4522864,00.html