On March 14, 1997, a Jordanian soldier opened fire on a large group of Israeli schoolgirls in 7th and 8th grade, murdering seven of them and injuring six others.
The Island of Peace, or Al-Baqoura as it is known in Jordan, is an area in northern Jordan bordering the Jordan River. The park is at the confluence of the Jordan River and Yarmouk River. Pinhas Rutenberg's Naharayim hydroelectric power station can be seen from here.
The 1994 Israel–Jordan peace treaty recognized the area to be under Jordanian sovereignty but leased the Israeli landowner's freedom of entry.
On March 13, 1997, the AMIT Fuerst junior high school from Beit Shemesh was on a class trip to the Jordan Valley, and the Island of Peace. Jordanian soldier Ahmed Daqamseh opened fire at the schoolchildren, killing seven girls aged 13 or 14 and badly wounding six others. King Hussein of Jordan came to Beit Shemesh to extend his condolences and ask forgiveness in the name of his country.
Source: Im Tirzu/Facebook