Jordan - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Jordan cover image

Jordan

November 28, 2024

Amman 6:35 am

10°C

The International Criminal Court

Germany reluctant to arrest Netanyahu after ICC warrant as France, Canada commit to uphold

The International Criminal Court on Thursday announced arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.

People wave Palestinian and Jordanian flags and chant slogans as they march during a demonstration near the US embassy in the capital Amman in solidarity with the people of Gaza on December 15, 2023, amid the continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite Israel's war in Gaza, Jordan stability holds & security forces' grip firm

Not a single Jordanian has died in anti-Israel protests, and the Hashemite Kingdom’s security forces have remained loyal to King Abdullah II.

Aaron Magid

Singaporean Air Force's F-15SG fighter jet and Apache helicopter perform during a preview of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore on Feb. 18, 2024.

Additional US F-15 fighter jets arrive in Jordan as Israel anticipates Iran attack

The Biden administration seeks to dissuade Iran from launching yet another retaliatory attack against Israel amid a drawn-out exchange of strikes that risk escalating into a wider conflict.

JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images

Gulf governments silent as Iran, proxies mourn Hamas' Yahya Sinwar

Regional governments have not commented on Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s killing by Israeli forces in Gaza, but Iran and its proxy groups mourned his death, vowing that the resistance against Israel will continue.

Latest News

Iran’s FM Araghchi mobilizes against Israel in visits to Jordan, Egypt, Turkey

MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images

Jordan's Islamist party gains in parliamentary elections

An elderly Jordanian woman votes in parliamentary elections at a polling station at the al-Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp near the capital Amman on September 10, 2024.

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Analysis

First in 30 years: How Allenby Bridge attack could upend Jordan-Israel ties

A car drives past a road signal indicating the Allenby (King Hussein) Bridge crossing point to Jordan (background), Jericho, West Bank, Jan. 28, 2021.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Jordan sounds alarm over Israeli incursion into West Bank

An Israeli army bulldozer digs up a road in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem with a Palestinian flag fluttering in the foreground on the second day of a large-scale military operation in the north of the occupied West Bank on August 29, 2024. The death toll climbed on August 29 as the Israeli army said it killed five militants in Tulkarem, bringing to 14 the overall number of people killed since the launch of the West Bank operation the previous day. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR A

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

A Jordanian man casts his ballot at a polling station for parliamentary elections in Amman, Jordan September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTSOL81

More at stake than meets the eye as Jordan votes

While continuing to prepare against external armed threats, Jordan must also focus on improving domestic conditions crucial to long-term stability.

A teacher distributes meals to students as part of a World Food Programme (WFP)-run project to provide healthy meals to students and to raise awareness of good eating habits, at Hofa Al-Mazar school in the city of Irbid, Jordan, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/ Muhammad Hamed - RTX2BQMO

Row erupts in Jordan over school curricula changes

While few deny the need to reform Jordan's education system, the issue of combating extremism in the school curricula is dividing the kingdom.

Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, looks on in a helicopter during his visit at the Golf Hotel, headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan December 27, 2010, where a detachment of UNOCI peacekeepers provides security. An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has resulted in two rivals claiming the presidency, with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defying world pressure to hand over to Ouattara. The standoff has killed more than

Veteran French diplomat: EU should play greater role in resolving Syria crisis

French diplomat Alain Le Roy discusses the European Union's "unstable" and "insecure" borders and its greater challenge of resolving the crisis in Syria.

Syrian refugee students gesture while attending a class in a UNICEF school, during German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel's visit to Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, September 22, 2015. REUTERS/ Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1RVB9

Thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan finally back in school

Child refugees from Syria are excited to go to school after the Jordanian government rolled out new measures to ease access to education for young refugees.

Vehicles drive towards the Allenby Bridge Crossing July 9, 2009. Israel said on Wednesday it would allow the crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan to remain open 24 hours a day to help the Palestinian economy. The Israeli-controlled terminal leading to the Allenby Bridge across the Jordan River is the West Bank's only land link to the Arab world. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK POLITICS TRANSPORT) - RTR25HIM

Why Is Jordan refusing entry to Gaza Palestinians?

More than 50,000 Gazans living in the West Bank are essentially trapped there, unable to cross into Jordan or go to Gaza.

Zaki Bani Ersheid (C), deputy Secretary General of the Muslim Brotherhood, is received by supporters after his release from prison in Amman, Jordan, January 4, 2016. Jordan released Bani Ersheid after he served over two-thirds of his 18-month prison term for criticizing the United Arab Emirates. REUTERS/Majed Jaber - RTX20YKA

Will Jordan's Brotherhood make breakthrough in upcoming elections?

Four Islamist parties will be competing in Jordanian legislative elections, including the Muslim Brotherhood and its splinter movements.

Syrian refugees wait to board a Jordanian army vehicle after crossing into Jordanian territory with their families, in Al Ruqban border area, near the northeastern Jordanian border with Syria, and Iraq, near the town of Ruwaished, 240 km (149 miles) east of Amman September 10, 2015. Picture taken September 10, 2015. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTX2II4S

Difficult negotiations over future of 75,000 Syrians trapped in 'no-man's land'

Since the IS June attack on Jordan’s Rukban border with Syria, the Hashemite kingdom has tightened security measures, to the point of banning food and medical aid to the Syrian refugees trapped on the border, prompting negotiations with the UN.

A traveller waits for his luggage at the Allenby Bridge Crossing July 9, 2009. Israel said on Wednesday it would allow the crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan to remain open 24 hours a day to help the Palestinian economy. The Israeli-controlled terminal leading to the Allenby Bridge across the Jordan River is the West Bank's only land link to the Arab world. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK POLITICS) - RTR25HFS

PA upset as 'VIP' travelers breeze over Allenby Bridge

The Palestinian Authority is accusing Israel of intentionally stifling the flow of travelers through a border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan to promote a new and expensive VIP service.

A military helicopter transports a security member, who was injured during an attack at a camp for Syrian refugees in eastern Jordan near the borders of Iraq, Syria and Jordan, to al-Hussein Medical Centre in Amman, Jordan, June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stringer - RTX2HCNT

Jordanians worry over new Syria front

The statement by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter about opening a new anti-Islamic State front in southern Syria raised mixed reactions among Jordanians, with some expecting more refugees to flock through the borders between both countries should new clashes occur.

Jordan's King Abdullah (R) and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (C) listen to Jordanian Chief of Staff General Mashal Mohammad Zaben during their visit to a joint Jordanian-American training center at Zarqa, northeast of Amman, Jordan, March 10, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTSA7HN

Lobbying 2016: Jordan tops list of Arab aid recipients

AMMAN, JORDAN - SEPTEMBER 10: Jordanian traffic police officer Sylvia Hjazeen directs traffic at one of the city's most important road crossings on September 10, 2007 in Amman, Jordan. A women's police academy opened in Amman in 1972 making Jordan the first Arab country to admit women to its police services. There are currently 73 female officers in Amman traffic police, accounting for less than 5 percent of the service, and this year seven became the first women to patrol on motorcycles. (Photo by Salah Ma

Jordan launches battle against Uber

The Jordanian government is cracking down on Uber drivers because the company is in violation of public transit laws.

A man marks his ballot at a polling station in Amman January 23, 2013. Jordanians voted on Wednesday in their first parliamentary elections since the Arab Spring revolts, but a boycott by the main Islamist party will ensure no repeat of an Egypt-style revolution via the ballot box. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CTZ7

Why many Jordanians have little stomach for upcoming elections

Distrust toward parliament, stemming from electoral fraud and doing nothing about the struggling economy, has generated Jordanian apathy toward parliamentary elections in September.