A split within Jordan's ruling monarchy and the detention of some 20 people are raising concerns about the stability of a country long considered an important Western partner with a king recognized as an important voice of moderation in the Middle East, world media reported.
Standby state
Jordan was on high alert Sunday (April 4) following a series of arrests in an alleged attempt to destabilize the government of King Abdullah II, Bloomberg wrote, adding that a day earlier security personnel and armored vehicles were parked outside the royal palaces and patrolling certain neighborhoods in Amman.
The military asked former Crown Prince Hamza Bin Hussein to stop "movements and activities that could be used against Jordanian security and stability," the state-run Petra news agency reported.
The media also carried a statement from a senior Middle East intelligence official who said an investigation into an alleged plot to depose King Abdullah, Hamza's older half-brother, is underway. On the other hand, Bloomberg points out, Hamza said in a six-minute video that his lawyer submitted to the BBC that he was "not part of any conspiracy."
Bloomberg points out that the developments come at a time when Jordan, a US ally and home to as many as two million Palestinians, has normalized relations with neighboring Israel, and which is under increasing pressure due to financial problems and an increased number of cases of COVID-19 that have prompted the government to restore movement restrictions.
"We are carefully following the reports and are in contact with Jordanian officials," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement, stressing that "King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States and has our full support." and Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt and other Arab states.
Prince's voice from house arrest
A rift in Jordan's ruling royal family erupted on Saturday, April 3, with state media reporting that senior officials have been detained as part of security investigations, while the reigning monarch's younger half-brother claims he has been effectively placed under house arrest, The Wall Street Journal reported. Journal) pointing out that more than 20 people have been detained so far.
In a video broadcast on the BBC, Prince Hamza bin Hussein denounced efforts to silence him while also criticizing the government of his brother, King Abdullah. "This country is trapped in corruption, nepotism and mismanagement," he said.
The prince, who was deposed as crown prince by King Abdullah in 2004, said his security had been removed and his internet and phone lines had been cut. Most of those arrested are mostly close allies of the prince, two senior Arab envoys based in Jordan and another person familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. "More arrests are expected to follow," one of the diplomats said.
Since the Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago, Prince Hamza has occasionally voiced growing frustrations in Jordan. Recently, the Wall Street Journal adds, public dissatisfaction has been increasing as the government has struggled to contain the pandemic caused by the corona virus and limit its impact on an economy that is heavily dependent on foreign tourism and investment.
"It has reached a point where no one can speak or express an opinion on anything without being harassed, arrested and threatened," Prince Hamza said in the video. "I am not the person responsible for the disintegration of the administration, corruption and incompetence that prevails in our ruling structure for the last 15 to 20 years".
Income, debt and unemployment
The exact number of people arrested as part of the investigation by the Jordanian security forces has not yet been determined, but they include Sharif Hasana bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, and Bassem Awadallah, the former finance minister and chief of staff to King Abdullah, who in recent years has been an adviser to Saudi Arabia. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, writes The Financial Times.
The London newspaper says it had the opportunity to watch a video of Prince Hamza, who claims he was visited by the Chief of General Staff and was told not to leave the house or communicate with others, as the meetings the prince had previously attended had allegedly included criticism of the government. or King Abdullah.
Jordanian Chief of Staff Youssef Huneiti said the warning to Prince Hamza was "part of comprehensive investigations undertaken by security agencies", denying reports that the former crown prince had been detained. He also said investigations were continuing.
According to the Financial Times, the unusual events will raise concerns about the stability of Jordan, which has long been considered an important Western partner that borders Israel, Iraq and Syria. King Abdullah is also seen as an important voice of moderation in the Middle East.
Jordan has long depended on financial support from Western and Gulf states and is grappling with declining revenues and debts that have skyrocketed to around 100 percent of gross domestic income, the paper added. Unemployment jumped above 20 percent last year as tourism, a key source of income and jobs, was hit by the coronavirus epidemic.
No open rivalry
It is rare for a senior member of Jordan's ruling royal family to express such harsh criticism of the government, and any sign of instability in Jordan is likely to cause concern among the country's Western allies, The Associated Press points out, adding that until now, King Abdullah and Prince Hamza they did not show any open rivalry.
Stability in Jordan and the status of the king have long been a matter of concern, especially during the administration of Donald Trump (Trump), which has given unprecedented support to Israel and sought to isolate the Palestinians by announcing a reduction in funding for Palestinian refugees, the agency points out, adding that in Jordan there are about two million Palestinians, most of whom have Jordanian citizenship.
Jordan and Israel maintain close security ties, but relations have otherwise been strained in recent years, largely due to differences related to Israel's conflict with the Palestinians. In early 2018, while then-President Trump threatened to cut aid to countries that did not support US policies, the administration nevertheless increased aid to Jordan by more than $XNUMX billion over five years.
In a video provided to the BBC, Prince Hamza bin Hussein strongly criticized the "ruling system" without mentioning the king by name, saying he had decided "that his personal interests, his financial interests, his corruption is more important than life and dignity and future of the 10 million people who live here".
Abdullah has ruled Jordan since the death of his father King Hussein in 1999 and chose Hamza as his heir to the throne hours after their father died - in deference to the late king who favored Hamza the most among his 11 children from four marriages.
However, Abdullah stripped his half-brother of that title in 2004, a move that, the Associated Press points out, was seen at the time as part of a consolidation of power five years after the succession. The current heir to the throne is Abdullah's eldest son Hussein, who is 26 years old.
Inadmissible criticism of the king
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been spared the political upheavals that have rocked other Middle Eastern capitals over the past decade, but has witnessed pro-democracy protest movements, economic problems due to the coronavirus pandemic and a struggle to accommodate more than a million refugees displaced by the war in neighboring Syria. Washington Post (The Washington Post).
Jordan has cultivated close ties with a number of US presidents, while seeking to maintain stable relations with its neighbors, including Israel. More recently, Jordan has been a major partner in the US-led campaign against the so-called Islamic State and has assisted US forces in security operations around the world.
Also, the newspaper points out, Jordan, as a country with a Sunni Muslim majority, has traditionally aligned itself with others in the region, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, against Iran. At the same time, King Abdullah, whose Hashemite family traces its origins to the Prophet Muhammad, sought to preserve Jordan's role as the custodian of holy Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem, including the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The paper also adds that, according to estimates, about half of Jordanians are of Palestinian origin, but the political system favored traditional Jordanian tribes, and public sector jobs were dominated by Jordanians, while Palestinians played a key role in the development of the country's private sector. This conditional balance, the Washington Post points out, has been threatened over the years by factors such as cuts in the public sector that have eroded the royal family's traditional power base.
King Abdullah tried to portray Jordan as a moderate and stable regional power, and himself as the modern face of a constitutional monarchy. However, the Washington Post points out, criticizing the king is a crime in Jordan, while many other political rights and freedom of expression are restricted. Although in recent years he has faced several waves of protests over economic issues, as well as calls for greater political freedoms, King Abdullah has successfully avoided them, making only a few political concessions.
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