Jordanian prince’s criticism put kingdom’s allies in bind

Labib Kamhawi, a Jordanian analyst, stated Hamzah had crossed a pink line by indicating he may be an alternative choice to the long-ruling king.

“This is something the king does not accept or tolerate,” he stated. “This is why we are now witnessing what has happened. This file is now more or less closed.”

Early on Sunday, Hamzah’s mom, Queen Noor, expressed sympathy for “innocent victims.”

“Praying that truth and justice will prevail for all the innocent victims of this wicked slander. God bless and keep them safe,” she tweeted.

In his video, Hamzah stated he was visited early Saturday by the kingdom’s army chief and informed he couldn’t exit, talk with folks or meet with them. He stated his cellphone and web service had been minimize and his satellite tv for pc web, used to document the message, was being minimize off as nicely.

He stated he was informed he was being punished for collaborating in conferences in which the king had been criticized, although he stated he was not accused of becoming a member of in the criticism.

Hamzah then lashed out on the “ruling system” with out mentioning the king by title, saying it had determined “that its personal interests, that its financial interests, that its corruption is more important than the lives and dignity and futures of the 10 million people that live here.”

“I’m not part of any conspiracy or nefarious organization or foreign-backed group, as is always the claim here for anyone who speaks out,” he stated. “There are members of this family who still love this country, who care for (its people) and will put them above all else.”

“Apparently, that is a crime worthy of isolation, threats and now being cut off,” he added.

Hamzah is a former crown prince who was stripped of that title by Abdullah in 2004, 5 years after changing into king following the loss of life of their father, the late King Hussein.

Hamzah is a well-liked determine in Jordan, broadly seen as pious and modest. It is extraordinarily uncommon for senior members of the ruling household to conflict so publicly.

Adding to the kingdom’s embarrassment, his claims contradicted statements by the army chief, Gen. Yousef Huneiti, denying that Hamzah was detained or underneath home arrest.

The normal informed the official Petra information company that Hamzah had been merely requested to “stop some movements and activities that are being used to target Jordan’s security and stability,” and that an investigation was ongoing.

Whatever harm the disaster may need inside Jordan, nonetheless, appeared to have little fast impact on exterior help for Abdullah.

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price stated, “King Abdullah is a key partner of the United States, and he has our full support.”

The U.S. considers Jordan a significant ally, granting it entry to army tools and help. U.S. particular forces and different troops routinely prepare with the Jordanians. The kingdom hosts some 3,000 American troops.

Pro-U.S. Gulf Arab nations, which have many Jordanians working throughout public sector jobs, additionally instantly issued statements backing the king and his authorities.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency stated the kingdom’s royal court docket supported King Abdullah’s efforts “to maintain security and stability and defuse every attempt to influence them.”

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates equally issued statements supporting Abdullah.

Abdullah and the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, are believed to have had a generally tense relationship over Saudi gestures towards Israel in current years. However, Saudi social media lit up in a single day with photos of the Saudi crown prince and King Abdullah, apparently in an indication of help.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz referred to as Jordan a “strategic ally” and dismissed the turmoil as an “internal Jordanian matter.”

Stability in Jordan and the standing of the king have lengthy been issues of concern all through the area, notably in the course of the Trump administration, which gave unprecedented help to Israel and sought to isolate the Palestinians, together with by slashing funding for Palestinian refugees.

That positioned Jordan, which serves because the custodian of Islamic holy websites in Jerusalem and is house to a big Palestinian inhabitants in a fragile place.

Jordan made peace with Israel in 1994. The nations preserve shut safety ties, however relations have in any other case been tense in current years, largely as a consequence of variations linked to Israel’s battle with the Palestinians.

In early 2018, as then-President Donald Trump was threatening to chop help to nations that didn’t help U.S. insurance policies, the administration boosted help to Jordan by greater than $1 billion over 5 years.

With Hamzah remaining underneath home arrest Sunday, it was unclear how lengthy the standoff might proceed with out threatening Abdullah’s worldwide standing.

Adam Coogle, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa for Human Rights Watch, stated there was a gradual however regular slide in private freedoms in Jordan in current years.

“There’s no question that there’s been a real degradation in the space for critical political conversation and in terms of basic freedoms,” he stated. “We’ve reached a real low point.”

Coogle cited the rise of the Islamic State group and the risk it posed to the Jordanian regime and the warming of ties between Israel and Gulf Arab nations in the course of the Trump period, usually at Jordan’s expense. He additionally pointed to the decline in Jordan’s economic system in the course of the coronavirus pandemic. Unemployment has skyrocketed to some 25%, whereas the nation has been saddled with an inflow of some 1 million Syrian refugees.

Oded Eran, a former Israeli ambassador to Jordan and senior analysis fellow on the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, stated the the previous 12 months has created “pockets of resentment and frustration.”

But he didn’t assume there’s a credible risk to Abdullah’s rule and it’s unlikely to result in a well-liked rebellion.

“I doubt that this could be more than talk of disgruntled people, important as they are,” he stated.

AP correspondents Jon Gambrell in Dubai, Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem and Sarah El Deeb in Beirut contributed reporting.

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