Category Archives: Jordan

Antony Blinken meets Arab leaders in fresh effort to stop Gaza conflict escalating

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US secretary of state meets officials from Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and UN as further civilian casualties reported in Gaza

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, met senior Jordanian and other Arab officials in Amman on Saturday in the latest effort by Washington to avert a regional escalation of the war between Israel and Hamas, ease the acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza and build support for planning a post-conflict future for the territory.

The trip was Blinken’s second to the Middle East since the conflict began almost a month ago but came against the backdrop of further civilian casualties in Gaza and an apparent snub from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Israel-Gaza war: UN general assembly calls for ‘immediate, durable humanitarian truce’

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Resolution, passed by 120 votes to 14, is not binding, but carries great political and symbolic weight

The UN general assembly has overwhelmingly called for an “immediate, durable and sustainable humanitarian truce” between Israel and Hamas and demanded unhindered aid access to the besieged Gaza Strip.

The motion drafted by Jordan is not binding, but carries political weight, reflecting the degree to which the US and Israel are isolated internationally as Israel steps up its ground operations.

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US envoy to UN says Arab states ‘empowering Hamas’ with Gaza ceasefire motion

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Resolution tabled by by Jordan calls for restraint from Israel but does not say Hamas was behind 7 October attack

The US envoy to the UN has accused Arab states of empowering Hamas and turning a blind eye to evil by tabling a draft resolution at the general assembly calling for restraint from Israel but failing to name Hamas as the perpetrators of the massacres of 7 October.

Linda Thomas Greenfield, who faced successive attacks by member states for failing to condemn Israel’s use of violence in Gaza, insisted the US mourned every loss of civilian life but also hit back by claiming the draft motion tabled by Jordan gave cover to Hamas.

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Arab nations condemn Israel’s Gaza assault during UN debate

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US warned over ‘genocide in Palestine’, as foreign ministers challenge targeting of civilians and international law breaches

Arab nations have linked hands with the Global South to challenge Israel and its western backers to end the bombing in a Gaza at the start of a rare two-day emergency debate at the UN general assembly.

In a fierce warning on Thursday the Iranian foreign minister said that if what he described as the genocide did not stop the US would “not be spared from this fire”.

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More protests expected across Middle East after Gaza hospital blast

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Hezbollah calls for ‘day of rage’ as both sides in war continue to trade blame for deadly explosion

Further furious rallies and protests are expected across the Middle East and north Africa on Wednesday after the blast at a Gaza hospital that left hundreds dead and injured.

Hamas has blamed Tuesday’s explosion at al-Ahli Arab hospital on an Israeli airstrike. The Israeli military says the hospital was hit by a rocket barrage launched by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, which has denied responsibility.

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Jordan’s secret police accused of targeting LGBTQ+ community

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Jordanian security services are abducting, harassing and ‘outing’ LGBTQ+ people, activists say, despite repeal of anti-gay laws

Jordanian secret police have been accused of intimidating gay people by “outing” them to their families and of forcing the closure of two LGBTQ+ organisations.

Human rights groups say activists have been abducted, harassed and monitored, as well as having their sexuality revealed to religiously conservative families.

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Jordan’s crown prince cements status with glitzy wedding to Saudi architect

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Celebrities and UK royals watch Prince Hussein marry Rajwa Alseif in marriage seen to secure succession and boost state ties

Jordan’s monarchy has cemented the role of its 28-year-old crown prince with a wedding attended by global royalty, including Britain’s Prince and Princess of Wales, in a glittering show seeking to buttress the succession and move on from a painful family scandal.

Crown Prince Hussein married Rajwa Alseif, a 29-year-old Saudi architect linked to her own country’s ruling dynasty, on Thursday afternoon in a match seen as boosting Amman’s rocky relationship with its more powerful and oil-rich neighbour.

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Royal fever sweeps Jordan ahead of crown prince’s wedding

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Photos of bridal party of Crown Prince Hussein’s fiancee, Rajwa Al Saif, go viral as celebrations break from modest traditions

Jordan is gearing up for Crown Prince Hussein’s wedding on Thursday, an event already greeted with fireworks, concerts and social media frenzy in the usually quiet desert kingdom.

The eldest son of King Abdullah II will marry his Saudi fiancee, Rajwa Al Saif, at the grand royal wedding with regional monarchs, the US first lady, Jill Biden, and the king of the Netherlands among the guests.

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UK ambassador to Yemen took part in opening of Jordanian cigarette factory

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Michael Aron praised facility part-owned by British American Tobacco at ribbon-cutting event in 2019

A UK ambassador took part in the opening ceremony of a Jordanian cigarette factory part-owned by British American Tobacco (BAT) and praised the new facility in a televised interview, in the latest example of British diplomats breaching strict guidelines against mixing with the tobacco industry overseas.

The envoy stood at the ribbon as it was cut and later appeared in promotional material on the tobacco company’s website, but no record of his presence at the event was kept by the British embassy in Amman because the event was not considered a “formal meeting”.

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Israeli and Palestinian officials express ‘readiness’ to work to stop violence

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Jordan hosts first such high-level talks in years aimed at defusing tensions in region before Ramadan

Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs have met in Jordan for the first such high-level talks in years aimed at defusing tensions in the volatile region ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, which it is feared could act as the catalyst for a wider escalation.

In a joint statement released at the close of the summit in the port city of Aqaba on Sunday, which was also attended by US, Jordanian and Egyptian officials, Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) expressed “readiness and commitment to work immediately” to prevent further violence.

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Gulf royals own more than £1bn of UK property via tax havens

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New government register shows how offshore jurisdictions used for ownership of nearly 200 properties including hotels and country estates

The royal families of Gulf states including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar own more than £1bn of UK property via offshore jurisdictions, such as Jersey and the British Virgin Islands, the Guardian can reveal.

Nearly 200 properties, including hotels, London mansions and country estates, belong to a few small but super-rich dynasties, according to analysis of a new government register that reveals who is behind offshore companies that own UK property.

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Joe Biden arrives in Middle East at time of rapid change

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Analysis: Israel has transformed itself from regional pariah to ally to many Arab states

Joe Biden has made clear that the Middle East is not a priority for his administration: Ukraine, China and the US midterm elections are all more pressing issues. Still, when Air Force One touches down in Tel Aviv for his first visit to the region as president on Wednesday afternoon, Biden will be faced with a rapidly changing – and still unstable – part of the world.

Biden’s main goal is to convince Saudi Arabia of the need to increase global oil supplies to ease the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But the fact that he flies directly to Jeddah after two days in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories speaks to a significant shift: Israel’s transformation from regional pariah to ally for many Arab states.

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Toxic gas leak in Jordan leaves 13 dead and hundreds injured

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Leak at port of Aqaba happened after tank filled with gas fell while being transported, says state news agency

Thirteen people have died and 251 have been injured in a toxic gas leak from a storage tank at Jordan’s Aqaba port, state television reported, as authorities called on residents to shut windows and stay indoors.

The leak on Monday came after a cable lifting a tank filled with 25 tonnes of chlorine snapped, sending the container crashing down.

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Victim’s iPhone hacked by Pegasus spyware weeks after Apple sued NSO

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Quartet targeted by clients – thought to be Jordanian government agencies – of Israeli company even after Apple sued in November

New evidence has revealed that an Apple iPhone was successfully hacked by a government user of NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware in December, weeks after the technology giant sued the Israeli company in a US court and called for it to be banned from “harming individuals” using Apple products.

A report published on Tuesday by security researchers at Front Line Defenders (FLD) and Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto found that phones belonging to four Jordanian human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists were hacked by government clients of NSO – which appear to be Jordanian government agencies – from August 2019 to December 2021.

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Revealed: king of Jordan used Swiss accounts to hoard massive wealth

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Leak shows King Abdullah was beneficial owner of at least six Credit Suisse accounts

In 2011, as popular revolts reverberated around the Middle East, a monarch in the midst of it all made some banking decisions. Sometime that year, as neighbouring Egypt and Syria withered in the face of momentous civil protests, King Abdullah II of Jordan opened two new accounts with Credit Suisse, the Swiss bank that had discreetly served the region’s well-heeled for decades.

Abdullah, one of the world’s longest-serving current monarchs, had chosen a banker that shared his approach to secrecy, particularly surrounding his personal wealth. Over the next five years, the king was the beneficial owner of at least six accounts with Credit Suisse, while his wife, Queen Rania, had another.

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Syria cement plant at centre of terror finance investigation ‘used by western spies’

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Jordanian intelligence officer tells Guardian Lafarge factory was used by intelligence agencies to gather information on IS hostages

A cement plant in Syria at the centre of a terror financing investigation in France was used by western intelligence agencies to gather information on hostages held by Islamic State, sources connected to the operation have said.

A Jordanian intelligence officer who was central to the spying effort has confirmed to the Guardian that the Lafarge factory, which continued operating after the terrorist group overran eastern Syria, in one of the most controversial episodes of the war, was the regional hub of a failed effort to rescue up to 30 hostages. Those IS held included the American journalist James Foley, British photographer John Cantlie and Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh, two of whom were later confirmed to have been killed.

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Jordan court jails two ex-officials for 15 years over alleged royal plot

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Ex-royal aide Bassem Awadallah and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a royal family member, convicted of plotting to foment unrest

A Jordanian state security court has sentenced two former officials to serve 15 years in prison over an alleged plot to foment unrest in the western-allied Middle East kingdom.

Bassem Awadallah, who has US citizenship and once served as a top aide to King Abdullah II; and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a member of the royal family, were found guilty of sedition and incitement charges. Each was sentenced to 15 years in jail.

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Phone intercepts shine more light on Jordanian prince’s alleged coup attempt

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Discussions took place before Prince Hamzah was put under house arrest

Aides to the former Jordanian heir Prince Hamzah sought pledges of allegiance on his behalf from tribal leaders and former military officers in the weeks before he was detained, conversations caught on phone intercepts and listening devices suggest.

The recordings are key pieces of evidence in the Jordanian government’s case against two men accused of acting as proxies for Hamzah in a failed attempt to oust his half-brother, King Abdullah, as monarch. Both men – Bassem Awadallah, a former envoy to Saudi Arabia, and Sharif Hassan bin Zaid, a cousin of the king – are expected to stand trial in Amman starting on Monday.

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Did Jordan’s closest allies plot to unseat its king?

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Alleged sedition and a royal family feud may have been driven by a broader plan to reshape the Middle East

The phone call that shook the Jordanian government came in the second week of March this year. On the line to the General Intelligence Directorate (GID) in Amman was the US Embassy, seeking an urgent meeting about a matter of national importance. The kingdom’s spies were startled. Danger was brewing on the home front, they were told, and could soon pose a threat to the throne.

Within hours, the GID had turned its full array of resources towards one of the country’s most senior royals, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, a former crown prince and half-brother of the king, whom the Americans suspected was sowing dissent and had begun rallying supporters. By early April, officials had placed Hamzah under house arrest and publicly accused the former heir and two close aides of plotting to unseat King Abdullah.

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