Israel regrets killing of Jordanian judge

Israel regretted the death of a Jordanian judge at the Allenby Bridge crossing one day ago, said a statement issued by Israeli prime minister's office Tuesday.

"Israel regrets the death of Judge Ra'ed Z'eiter yesterday ( Monday) at the King Hussein (Allenby) bridge and expresses its sympathies to the people and government of Jordan," Xinhua quoted the statement as saying.

Z'eiter, 38, a Jordanian judge who went to visit his Palestinian family in Nablus, was shot by Israeli soldiers on the Allenby Bridge terminal connecting Jordan and the West Bank.

Conflicting reports on the incident triggered tensions between Israel and Jordan.

A joint Israeli-Jordanian investigation team would look into the incident, the statement added.

The statement was made after 24 hours of discussions between Israeli prime minister's envoy Yitzhak Molcho and Jordanian officials, trying to prevent deterioration in relations between the two countries.