person:abdullah ii

Trump tells Abbas of plans to move embassy as world leaders warn of consequences
Dec. 5, 2017 7:42 P.M. (Updated: Dec. 5, 2017 7:42 P.M.)
▻http://www.maannews.com/Content.aspx?ID=779571

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — After days of speculation over whether the US would be moving its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, American President Donald Trump called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday and confirmed his intentions to move the embassy.

Abbas’ spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh released a statement saying that Abbas "warned [Trump] of the dangerous repercussions of such step” for the peace-process between Israel and Palestine, and for general security and stability in the region and world.

Abbas reportedly reiterated the Palestinian leadership’s unwavering position that without what is no occupied East Jerusalem as its capital, there is not future of Palestinian state as stipulated in international resolutions.

Abu Rudeineh stressed that Abbas “will continue to contact world leaders in order to prevent this unacceptable.”

Israeli news daily Haaretz quoted Nabil Shaath, a senior Palestinian official, as saying that “the mother of all the [peace] deals dies here on the rocks in Jerusalem if he says tomorrow that he recognizes a united Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.”

Meanwhile, international media outlets reported that Trump also phoned Jordanian King Abdullah II, who, according to Haaretz, told Trump over the phone that he pledged to “thwart any American initiative to renew the peace process and would encourage rage and resistance among Muslims and Christians alike,” if the embassy was moved.

Saudi Media: Muslim Leaders Invited to Summit with Trump — Naharnet

▻http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/229820

King Abdullah II of Jordan, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou are among leaders invited by Saudi King Salman for a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Arab-Islamic-American Summit will be among a series of talks expected to be held in Riyadh on May 20-21, Saudi officials said.

Trump has frequently been accused of fueling Islamophobia but aides described his decision to visit Saudi Arabia as an effort to reset relations with the Muslim world.

There will also be a separate meeting between monarchs of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and Trump, as well as bilateral talks between the Saudi and U.S. leaders, Riyadh’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir has said.

In addition to heads of state from Jordan, Algeria and Niger, the official Saudi Press Agency reported that Salman asked Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to attend.

The leaders of Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia have also received invitations, the Arab News daily reported on Wednesday.

Kerry offered Netanyahu regional peace plan in secret 2016 summit with al-Sissi, King Abdullah - Israel News - Haaretz.com

▻http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.772531

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took part in a secret summit in Aqaba a year ago where then-U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry presented a plan for a regional peace initiative including recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and a renewal of talks with the Palestinians with the support of the Arab countries.
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Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi were also present at the meeting in the Jordanian city.
Netanyahu did not accept Kerry’s proposal and said he would have difficulty getting it approved by his governing coalition. Still, the Aqaba summit was the basis for the talks that began two weeks later between Netanyahu and opposition leader Isaac Herzog (Zionist Union) on establishing a unity government.
Details about the summit and the plan emerged from conversations between Haaretz and former senior officials in the Obama administration who asked to remain anonymous. The Prime Minister’s Bureau refused to comment.
It was Kerry who initiated the conference. In April 2014, the peace initiative he had led collapsed, negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians entered a deep freeze and U.S. President Barack Obama declared a time-out in U.S. attempts to restart the peace process. Over the next 18 months Kerry focused on attaining an agreement with Iran over its nuclear program; an agreement was reached in July 2015 and ratified by Congress in mid-September.
In October that year, Kerry renewed his work on the Israeli-Palestinian process following an escalation of tensions over the Temple Mount and a wave of violence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
At the end of October, Kerry was able to achieve understandings confirming the status quo on the Temple Mount by Israel, the Palestinians and Jordan. As part of these understandings, Israel and Jordan launched talks over the placement of closed-circuit cameras on the Temple Mount, an idea that was never implemented.
Two weeks later, Netanyahu came to Washington for his first meeting with Obama in more than a year – a period when the two leaders badly clashed over the nuclear deal with Iran.

Quds Arabi daily says Jordanian Operation’s Room has been closed; repression of pro-opposition Syrian “activists”
▻https://mideastwire.wordpress.com/2017/01/25/quds-arabi-daily-says-jordanian-operations-room-has-been-clos

@gonzo @nidal @loutre

▻http://www.alquds.co.uk/?p=664502

On January 25, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following report by its Amman Office Chief Bassam Bdareen: “The Jordanian political compass is about to change, though slowly, amid increasing talk in the closed decision-making rooms surrounding the need to alleviate the tone towards Iran, and prepare to deal with it as a “realistic” option. On the other hand, it was decided that King Abdullah II should head to Moscow to meet with its President Vladimir Putin, at a time when Kremlin announced that the bilateral summit will discuss the “anti-terrorism” plans. So, there was no need for Amman to wait for President Donald Trump’s inclinations to start seeking its interests in Moscow, seeing how Egyptian President Abdul Fattah es-Sisi is doing it, while Walid Fares, the advisor close to Trump’s administration, called on the Jordanians to pay attention, because from now on, all the regional files will be discussed in light of the American assignment to Russia.

“Something unannounced is happening behind the scenes in this regard, enhancing the conviction that talking to Moscow regarding any Jordanian file related to Syria would be the productive path to follow… As for the summit meeting between Abdullah II and Putin, it might end with the activation of the Russian security coordination centre against terrorism in Amman. And at this level exclusively, Amman is telling all the sides that the famous MOC 1 base, which was like an operations room for the support of the Syrian opposition, is closed, no longer exists, and is out of service, while the activities of its technical and political cells today are limited to the fighting of terrorism. Therefore, in light of the new equations, there is nothing preventing Moscow from truly considering the establishment of a Russian version of MOC 2, whose task would be limited to deterring the Islamic State organization, seeing how An-Nusra Front’s card is contained on the Jordanian and Israeli levels…

“In the meantime, fresh information acquired by Al-Quds al-Arabi revealed that the campaign of arrests which recently targeted 19 activists in the context of what was dubbed the “death or reform” meeting had regional roots, and followed the assessment of the Karak Castle terrorist operation, which was considered to be a regional message by a specific party. For its part, Moscow seems open to the discussion of details that are worrying Amman, and the presentation of guarantees regarding some basic Jordanian conditions, namely the containment of the movement of militias affiliated with Hezbollah, the Iraqi An-Najba’ Movement and the Revolutionary Guard around and inside Daraa, and the launching of actual discussions surrounding the recovery of the official crossing.

“What is pushing Jordan to take studied and slow steps in diversifying its contacts is its command’s wish to avoid any surprises that could thwart or downplay the importance of the Arab summit, which will be hosted by Amman at the end of March… This political diversification action, which former Prime Minister Samir Rifai had proposed through Al-Quds al-Arabi earlier, was apparently prompted by two noticeable and important developments, i.e. the wide retreat of the Saudi and American economic aid, and the public rivalry proclaimed against the Jordanian regime by the scenarios of the Israeli far-right…”

#Syrie #Jordanie

EXCLUSIVE: Jordan begins covert operations against IS in Syria | Middle East Eye | Dania Akkad |Last update: Saturday 26 March 2016
▻http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jordanian-special-forces-poised-enter-syria-2033698172

http://www.middleeasteye.net/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg_large/public/images/alwaleedmap_02.png

Jordan sent troops to retake a key Syria-Iraqi border crossing from Islamic State (IS) fighters in support of a wider campaign against the militant group in Syria, Middle East Eye can reveal.

King Abdullah II revealed the preparation of two special forces battalions for the covert action during a briefing in January to top-level US congressional members, including John McCain and Paul Ryan, telling the politicians that troops with “some balls” were needed to fight IS, according to a detailed account of the meeting seen by MEE.

One battalion, drawn from men from Syria’s southern tribes, was assessed by the British and is led by a Syrian commander, the king said.

He said a second battalion was moving as of mid-January towards al-Waleed border crossing, about 240km southeast of Palmyra, to cut IS routes between Iraq and Syria. In early March, US-backed “New Syrian Army” rebels captured the crossing from IS.

A source in contact with rebel fighters in Syria told MEE that Jordanian forces helped the rebels retake the crossing. Jordanian and US Central Command officials had not responded to MEE’s request for comment by the time of this story’s publication.(...)

Iranian Al Qods chief on landmark visit to Amman as guest of Jordan’s national intelligence director
▻http://www.debka.com/article/24449/Iranian-Al-Qods-chief-on-landmark-visit-to-Amman-as-guest-of-Jordan’s-nationa

debkafile’s military and intelligence sources reveal exclusively that Gen. Qassem Soleiman, commander of the Revolutionary Guards elite Al Qods Brigades, paid a groundbreaking visit last Thursday, March 5, to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as guest of Gen. Faisal Al-Shoulbaki, director of General Intelligence and a close adviser to King Abdullah II.

The visit, encouraged by Obama administration policy, showed one of America’s oldest Sunni Arab allies, recognizing the direction of the trending regional reality to jump the lines over to Tehran. Iran’s grab for Middle East influence is now reaching from four capitals, Baghdad, Damascus, Sanaa, Beirut to a fifth, Amman.
Our sources report that Royal Jordanian Air Force fighter jets escorted the Iranian general’s armored motorcade as it drove from Baghdad to Amman through the main highway connecting the two Arab capitals.

It is not known whether the king gave Soleimani an audience, but the possibility is not ruled out.

Debka est un site... hum, comment dire... proche des services isréaliens... Mais si la nouvelle est vraie, c’est du très très gros !

Jordanian king in Moscow to discuss bilateral ties
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/19371

http://english.al-akhbar.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/4cols/leading_images/635302-01-08.jpg

Russia’s President #Vladimir_Putin (R) shakes hands with #Jordan's King Abdullah II during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on April 9, 2014. Putin hosted today Jordan’s King Abdullah II for talks on #syria, nuclear energy and defence. (Photo: AFP- Ria-Novosti / Pool/ Alexey) #Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Jordan’s King Abdullah II during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, on April 9, 2014. Putin hosted today Jordan’s King Abdullah II for talks on Syria, nuclear energy and defence. (Photo: AFP- Ria-Novosti / Pool/ Alexey)

Russian President Vladimir Putin joked with his visitor King Abdullah II of Jordan in front of journalists (...)

#Mideast_&_North_Africa #Articles #Daraa #Iraq #King_Abdallah_II #Lebanon

Rappel : la ressource hydrique comme facteur inhibant du projet nucléaire jordanien
Water Shortages May End Jordan’s Nuclear Power Hopes
▻http://oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Water-Shortages-May-End-Jordans-Nuclear-Power-Hopes.html

While Jordan’s nascent nuclear power industry has its advocates, it may well be water, the Middle East’s most precious resource, rather than fiscal issues that shoves the country’s nuclear hopes farther into the future. As King Abdullah II noted, potable water “remains the most essential and the highest priority issue" and no one at the Water Ministry has yet advanced a plan how the Kingdom might make up its annual water deficit of 73 million cubic meters.

#nucléaire
#Jordanie
#énergie
#eau

Censure des sites d’information en ligne en Jordanie
Jordan Blocks Local Access to 300 News Web Sites - NYTimes.com
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/world/middleeast/jordan-blocks-local-access-to-300-news-web-sites.html?_r=0

AMMAN, #Jordan — The Jordanian government has blocked local access to about 300 news Web sites under a new law that the sites’ editors and international journalism experts have derided as dangerous censorship aimed at quelling criticism of King Abdullah II.

#Jordanie
#censure

Islamist Threat Constrains Jordan’s Syria Policy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

▻http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/05/jordan-islamists-syria-civil-war.html

King Abdullah II is no longer hiding his worries about the fate of post-Assad Syria and the danger of it falling into the hands of Islamists, specifically the Muslim Brotherhood, the king’s discomfort toward whom is locally and regionally well known. American journalist Jeffrey Goldberg wrote in The Atlantic, quoting the Jordanian monarch’s criticism of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who are brought together by a background of political Islam. Despite the king’s position stemming from foreign concerns, it also figures into the domestic equation.

Jordanian king: Ties with Netanyahu very strong, may be too late for two-state solution - Diplomacy & Defense - Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper
▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/jordanian-king-ties-with-netanyahu-very-strong-may-be-too-late-for-two-stat

Jordanian King Abdullah II has said that his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has improved and that the latter has contributed to the stability of the Hashemite government, in an interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg published Tuesday.

Abdullah would not give details to Goldberg about the nature of his relationship with Netanyahu, whom he has met with repeatedly recently, saying only that it was “very strong. Our discussions have really improved.”

The Jordanian king stressed in his interview with Goldberg that his country’s peace treaty with Israel was a “red line” that must not be crossed by any successive government in Amman: “I don’t want a government to come in and say, ’We repudiate the peace treaty with Israel.’"

The king’s remarks to Goldberg come after years of tension with Netanyahu. The two met only twice in the first three years of Netanyahu’s recent tenure. Over the last three months, however, Netanyahu has met Abdullah in Amman at least twice to discuss the crisis in Syria and the stalled peace process with the Palestinians.

Neither of those recent meetings were publicized in Israel, and emerged in Arab media only days after they occurred.

Goldberg reported in December that Israel had asked Jordan at least twice for a green light to attack chemical weapons facilities in Syria. Netanyahu sent representatives of the Mossad intelligence agency to Amman twice already, to coordinate the matter with the Jordanians and receive their “permission” for the operation, Goldberg wrote.

Jordan : A Limited Strategic Shift | Al Akhbar English
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/jordan-limited-strategic-shift

Jordanian King Abdullah II’s recent visit to Moscow crowned a series of steps that Amman has been taking over the past few months, signalling a shift away from its traditional allies like Washington and Israel.

Asia Times Online :: Morsi delivers his calling card
►http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/NH31Ak03.html

By Pepe Escobar / Aug 31, 2012

(...) With just one stroke, Morsi cut off the head of a fake snake being sold to Washington for years by the Jordanian King Playstation and the House of Saud; that of an “evil” Shi’ite crescent from Iran to Lebanon via Iraq and Syria undermining the “stability” of the Middle East.

What Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and Jordan’s younger Abdullah II in fact fear is the unrest and rage of their own populations, not to mention the mere idea of democracy; it’s easy to blame rampant Shi’ism for everything because Washington is gullible - or expedient - enough to buy it.

The “Shi’ite crescent” myth can be debunked in a number of ways. Here’s just one - that I have witnessed in person, on the spot, for quite a while during the mid-2000s. Tehran knows that the majority of Iraq’s powerful clergy are totally adverse to the Khomeinist concept of the Islamic Republic. No wonder Tehran is very much worried about the renaissance of Najaf in Iraq as the premier holy city in Shi’ite Islam, to the detriment of Qom in Iran.

Washington buys this propaganda because it’s right at the heart of the New Great Game. Whatever the administration in place, from Bush to Obama and beyond, a key Washington obsession is to neutralize what is seen as a Shi’ite axis from Lebanon, via Syria and Iraq, across Iran and all the way to Afghanistan.

A mere look at the map tells us this axis is at center of the humongous US military deployment in Asia - facing China and Russia. Obviously the best intel in Beijing and Moscow has identified it for years.

The Russians and the Chinese see how the Pentagon “manages” - indirectly - a great deal of the region’s oil reserves, including the Shi’ite northeast of Saudi Arabia. And they see how Iran - as the gravity center of the whole region - cannot but be Washington’s ultimate obsession. The nuclear row is just a pretext - the only one in the market, actually. Ultimately, it’s not a matter of destroying Iran, but of subjugating it to the condition of a docile ally.

Into this hardcore power play steps in Brother Morsi, reshuffling a deck of cards as lightning quick as a Sheldon Adelson-employed Macau croupier. What might have taken months and perhaps years - the sidelining of the old SCAF leadership, Qatar being privileged to the detriment of Saudi Arabia, a presidential visit to Tehran, Egypt stepping up as a leader of the Arab world - was accomplished in barely two months. (...)

Pour Morsi le changement c’est maintenant.