Jordan stated it uncovered a plot to destabilize the kingdom that involved King Abdullah II’s half-brother and extended beyond the country’s borders.
The sibling, former Crown Prince Hamza Bin Hussein, worked in concert with foreign entities, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi stated on Sunday, in a initially official explanation of a string of arrests a day earlier. More than 16 people today, which includes at least one other royal, have been taken into custody, he stated at a news conference in the capital, Amman.
“There was an effort to target Jordan’s security and stability, this effort was foiled,” he stated, providing no proof to back up his claims. He declined to say no matter whether the unidentified foreign entities have been people today or governments, and if any cash was paid to these involved in the alleged plot.
The crackdown comes as Jordan struggles with a worsening squeeze on its finances and a resurgence of Covid-19 instances that has prompted the government to renew restrictions on movement. The U.S. most lately offered the Middle East kingdom with $700 million in August.
“We are closely following the reports and in touch with Jordanian officials,” State Department spokesman Ned Price stated in a statement late Saturday. “King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has our full support.”
Jordan’s stability is important to the area as it sits at the crossroads of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It’s house to as numerous as 2 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, and chaos there could endanger the safety of Israel, with which it shares a frontier and produced peace in 1994. Bordering each Syria and Iraq, the kingdom has also fashioned itself as a force for moderation in a turbulent neighborhood.
Security personnel and armored cars have been observed parked outdoors royal palaces and patrolling the Dabouq neighborhood of the capital, Amman, on Saturday. The Washington Post stated earlier that Hamza, the eldest son of the late King Hussein and his fourth wife Queen Noor, was beneath property arrest at his palace in Amman. It cited a senior Middle East intelligence official briefed on the events as saying there was an ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to unseat King Abdullah, Hamza’s older half-brother.
Hamza was the crown prince for 4 years prior to the title was transferred in 2004 to the existing king’s eldest son, Hussein. He has occupied different roles, which includes brigadier in the Jordanian army. In a six-minute video offered to the BBC by his lawyer, he stated he was “not part of any conspiracy.”
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“I had a visit from chief of general staff of the Jordanian armed forces this morning in which he informed me that I was not allowed to go out, to communicate with people or to meet with them because in the meetings that I had been present in — or on social media relating to visits that I had made — there had been criticism of the government or the king,” Hamza stated in the video. He added that his Internet and phone lines had been reduce.
On Twitter, Hamza’s mother, Queen Noor referred to as the incidents a “wicked slander”.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Major General Yousef Huneiti on Saturday denied claims about the arrest of Hamza and stated the prince was merely asked to quit “movements and activities that are used to target” the safety and stability of Jordan. He added that the move was portion of joint investigations undertaken by safety agencies, as a outcome of which Hasan Bin Zeid, a member of the royal household, along with various other individuals, which includes Bassem Awadallah, a former cabinet minister, have been arrested.
The army chief indicated that the investigations have been ongoing and their benefits will be announced “with full transparency and clarity.”
Awadallah, who holds a doctorate from the London School of Economics and Political Science, has served in different positions in Jordan, which includes financial secretary to the prime minister, minister of finance and head of the royal court. Until 2018, he was King Abdullah’s private envoy to Saudi Arabia, exactly where he was close to Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and other Arab states joined the U.S. in expressing assistance for King Abdullah.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz referred to as Jordan’s King Abdullah II, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with each the king and with Jordan’s Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah, according to the SPA news agency.
“The Kingdom stands and its full solidarity with the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom’s support for all the measures that His Majesty takes to preserve the security of Jordan and maintain its stability,” King Salman was quoted as saying.
“The Biden administration would view the potential of a failed state as detrimental to regional stability,” stated Ayham Kamel, the New York-based head of Eurasia Group’s Middle East and Africa analysis group. “The Israeli security establishment would not look favorably toward any real instability in Jordan that triggers a Palestinian crisis.”
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