Amman, July 24 (IANS): Two Jordanians were killed in a shootout inside the Israeli embassy in Amman, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The attack took place on Sunday evening when the owner of the embassy compound and two workers entered the premises "for a routine furniture replacement", according to the Foreign Ministry.

One of the workers allegedly stabbed an Israeli security officer with a screwdriver, who, in self-defence, opened fire on the assailant, 17, reports Efe news.

Another Jordanian, identified as the owner of the building, was injured in the gunfire and later succumbed to his wounds at the hospital.

The incident comes at a time of escalated tensions between Israelis and Palestinians over newly-installed metal detectors at Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque following an attack in which three armed Palestinians killed two Israeli policemen before being shot dead.

The holy site is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and Jews as the Temple Mount.

On Friday, thousands of Jordanians protested in Amman against Israel over the installation of metal detectors outside a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews in East Jerusalem.