NOURNEWS - Media sources reported that the Saudi crown prince has conditionally agreed to cooperate with Israel in the recent coup against Jordanian King Abdullah II, adding that Mohammed bin Salman planned to win the custody of the Palestinian sanctities from Jordan instead.
According to media reports, the recent "coup" against King Abdullah II of Jordan was a multilateral plot and big coup on all scales developed by the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
A Jordanian official stressed that the coup was planned by Israel because Jordan opposed the US-Israeli peace plan called the "deal of the century".
According to the official, Jordan’s stance raised this concern in Israel that the issue could be a green light to incite the Palestinians living in Jordan and its tribes against the deal of the century.
"For this reason, Israeli officials called on Riyadh for help," he said.
Mohamed Bin Salman (MbS) had declared his endorsement of the coup on the condition that the custody of Islamic sanctities in Jerusalem be transferred from Jordan to Saudi Arabia, the official said.
Earlier this month, Jordan’s King Abdullah addressed the rare public rift within the royal family for the first time, saying the “sedition” that caused him “pain and anger” has been buried.
In a statement broadcast to the nation, the king addressed Jordan’s worst political crisis in decades, sparked by an alleged plot involving his half-brother Prince Hamzah.
The crisis in the royal family erupted during the weekend, when Jordan’s military chief of staff visited Prince Hamzah and warned him to stop attending meetings with critics of the government. Things quickly escalated, with Hamzah accusing the security establishment of threatening him and ordering the general to leave his home.
The former crown prince stated he was then held under house arrest, and authorities detained 18 other people, including former senior officials.
The government accused Hamzah of being part of a “malicious plot” to destabilise the country with foreign support, but the following day, it said the royal family had resolved the dispute.
"I assure you, that the sedition has been nipped in the bud,” King Abdullah noted in the address read out on state television.
“Nothing comes close to what I felt – shock, pain and anger – as a brother and guardian of the Hashemite family and a leader of this dear people,” he added.
The monarch went on to say that Jordan is accustomed to facing and triumphing over challenges.
“Over the course of our history we have defeated all the targets that tried to undermine the homeland, and we came out of them stronger and more united,” he continued, adding, “The challenge of these last days was not the most dangerous for the stability of the country – but it was the most painful for me."
“Hamzah today is with his family in his palace under my protection,” the king added, saying, “He has committed before the [Hashemite] family to follow the path of his parents and grandparents, to be faithful to their message, and to place the interest of Jordan, its constitution and its laws above all other considerations.”
Abdullah stated an investigation will be carried out in accordance with the law, and that the next steps will be governed by “the interests of the homeland and of our loyal people”.
The palace had already insisted the dispute was being resolved inside the family, but major challenges loom for the Western-allied monarchy long seen as a linchpin of regional stability.
Arab countries and the United States were quick to express support for King Abdullah.
Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden spoke with King Abdullah and discussed the strong bilateral ties between the two countries.
The president said he was not concerned about the situation in Jordan.
“I actually called him [King Abdullah] to tell him he has a friend in America. Stay strong,” Biden added.
International backing however, has done little to mask the domestic issues that Amman faces.
The whereabouts of Prince Hamzah are unknown and there is no sign that authorities have released the other 18 detainees, including members of one of the powerful tribes that has historically supported the monarchy.
Authorities have meanwhile imposed a sweeping gag order on reporting of the alleged plot, in a sign of the sensitivity of how the dispute is perceived.
NOURNEWS