Jordan’s Prince Hamza pledges allegiance to king after mediation

Jordan’s Prince Hamza pledged allegiance to King Abdullah on Tuesday after mediation by the royal household, two days after he was positioned beneath home arrest and accused of making an attempt to destabilise the nation.
Prince Hamza signed a letter by which he positioned himself on the monarch’s disposal after a gathering on Monday with Prince Hassan, the king’s uncle, and different princes, the royal court docket mentioned.
“I place myself in the hands of his majesty the king… I will remain committed to the constitution of the dear Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” Prince Hamza mentioned within the letter launched by the palace.
An earlier royal palace tweet mentioned the king had entrusted Prince Hassan, additionally a former crown prince, to take cost of the matter and that Prince Hamza had agreed to household mediation over the affair.
On Saturday, the army warned Prince Hamza over actions it mentioned have been undermining “security and stability” in Jordan, and he later mentioned he was beneath home arrest. Several high-profile figures have been additionally detained.
Officials mentioned on Sunday Prince Hamza had liaised with individuals who had contacts with overseas events in a plot to destabilise Jordan, an vital ally of the United States, and that he had been beneath investigation for a while.

The half-brother of King Abdullah and former inheritor to the throne mentioned in a voice recording launched by Jordan’s opposition on that he wouldn’t comply after being barred from any exercise and instructed to maintain quiet.
While Prince Hamza shouldn’t be seen as a direct menace to the king, his actions urged he needed to shore up his place with the Jordanian public after being faraway from the royal succession.
“For sure I won’t obey when they tell you that you cannot go out or tweet or reach out to people but are only allowed to see the family. I expect this talk is not acceptable in any way,” he mentioned within the recording circulated to buddies and contacts.
The intrigue shook Jordan’s picture as a haven of stability within the unpredictable Middle East. It is unclear why the dominion determined to crack down on Prince Hamza now, however he put himself at rising danger by stepping up visits in current weeks to tribal gatherings the place the king and his authorities have been criticised extra brazenly.
Public anger has additionally elevated since 9 Covid-19 sufferers died when oxygen ran out in a newly constructed state hospital, exposing negligence blamed on official mismanagement and corruption. Protests have been damaged up with tear fuel.
The prince went to the houses of those that died to pay condolences, hoping to upstage the monarch who had earlier gone to the hospital to defuse anger, officers say. It was the primary such open rift within the royal household in a few years.
King Abdullah had eliminated Prince Hamza from his place as inheritor to the throne in 2004. In a video handed to the BBC by Prince Hamza’s lawyer on Saturday, the prince accused Jordan’s leaders of corruption, apparently hoping to faucet into the general public’s frustrations.
Prince Hamza shouldn’t be seen as a menace to the monarchy, which enjoys the help of the military and safety companies, however has gained sympathy amongst Jordanians sceptical of the federal government’s accusations about his overseas hyperlinks, saying it was a marketing campaign to defame him. “This is character assassination without evidence,” mentioned Ali R. al Tarawneh in a tweet.
A supporter recognized solely as Razan mentioned on Twitter there was “no good in a country that imprisons its prince.”Others felt he was pushed solely by revenge at being sidelined and needed to win reputation in tribal gatherings by emulating, in tone and language, his late father, who’s revered by many Jordanians.
Prince Hamza is the oldest son of the late King Hussein and his spouse Noor, who had groomed him as a future monarch. He has served within the Jordanian armed forces. He angered the royal palace by making an attempt to endear himself to a poor tribal constituency that has felt the influence of a shrinking financial system and the state’s lack of ability to maintain creating jobs which have lengthy absorbed tribesmen in rural and Bedouin areas.
Officials mentioned between 14 and 16 individuals had been arrested in reference to the alleged plot. The state information company mentioned these arrested included Bassem Awadallah, a US-educated confidant of the king who turned minister of finance and adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and royal member of the family Sharif Hassan Ben ZaidJordan’s neighbours and allies have expressed solidarity with King Abdullah over the safety measures within the kingdom.