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AMMAN — The Lower House’s Palestine Committee on Tuesday strongly denounced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks that Israel has the full right to annex the Jordan Valley.

MP Yahya Saud, head of the committee, said that annexing a “strategic” part of the occupied West Bank, which was discussed between Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a meeting in Lisbon, is utterly rejected, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Saud said that the Israeli proposal is a flagrant violation of international law and UN conventions. In a statement, carried by Petra, the committee called on Arab and Islamic peoples to pressure their governments to support the Palestinian issue, boycott Israel and expose its practices, which are implemented “under clear US support”.  

AMMAN — Newly appointed Jordanian Ambassador to Lebanon Waleed Hadid on Tuesday presented his credentials to Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

During the ceremony, Hadid conveyed His Majesty King Abdullah’s greetings to Aoun and His Majesty’s wishes of further prosperity for Lebanon, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

For his part, Aoun conveyed his greetings to King Abdullah and voiced keenness to enhance bilateral ties on all levels.

AMMAN — The General Command of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army on Tuesday dispatched the fifth Christian military pilgrimage convoy to Palestine. Head of the convoy, Brig. Gen. Munir Jiryes said that the group comprises 40 commissioned and non-commissioned officers and their families, who will spend three days visiting Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and Tiberias, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Also on Tuesday, Acting Public Security Department (PSD) Director Brig. Gen. Obeidallah Maaytah saw off the department’s Christian pilgrimage convoy heading to holy sites in Palestine, Petra added. Maaytah said that dispatching this group of retired PSD personnel is part of maintaining communication with the department’s retired servicemen. 

AMMAN — The Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced eight cases of swine flu (H1N1) being treated in several hospitals across the Kingdom. The patients are stable and recovering, according to a Health Ministry statement. 

Director of the Communicable Diseases Directorate at the ministry Hadeel Saeh said that H1N1 is a kind of seasonal flu that surfaces annually and is “treated effectively” by Jordanian medical care establishments. According to the statement, the ministry has treated 49 patients with H1N1 recently, most of whom have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals, leaving only the eight patients who are now receiving treatment and recovering.

Saeh added that H1N1 does not require isolating patients. Concerning the case of a patient who died at Karak Military Hospital on Monday, the ministry said that the patient, who had H1N1, suffered from immunodeficiency due to chronic rheumatism, which led to complications that resulted in the patient’s death. The ministry called on citizens to take preventive measures and follow the educational brochures published on the ministry’s website and contact the ministry’s hotline if any inquiries arise. 

AMMAN — Around 110,000 illegal foreign workers have amended their situation by finalising plans to leave Jordan, according to Minister of Labour Nidal Bataineh, who added that priority in the labour market is now being afforded to local workers.

“The ministry found itself at a crossroads: Either collect tax from foreign workers or close the entry door to many professions, and we decided to take the latter course of action,” said the minister in a statement.

In a meeting on Monday with the Parliamentary Labour and Social Development Committee, chaired by MP Khaled Abu Hassan, the committee gave its support for increasing penalties for those who knowingly employ expatriate workers without a licence.

Hassan called on the ministry to regulate the labour market and replace expatriates with Jordanian workers, proposing that they do so through enhancing partnership between the public and private sectors.

Regarding the amendments put forward to the draft labour law, Bataineh explained that they increase the penalties for those who engage in illegal employment as well as for those who manipulate minimum wages.

They also grant the ministry the authority to issue work permits for a period of two years in some sectors, especially the agricultural sector.

During the meeting, the Arab Women’s Network called for opening the door for employment to Gazans and the children of Jordanian women, as well as imposing a heavy penalty on employers who harass workers.

The minister affirmed that all mentioned suggestions are included in the new draft law, adding that a clear definition of sexual harassment will be developed. 

He also addressed the cases of 7,000 citizens this year who left their jobs immediately after being hired, saying that the causes are being analysed.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday endorsed three draft laws, including the draft law for ratifying the Arab Convention for the Prevention and Combatting of Human Cloning. 

The House approved amendments to the law of service of officers in the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, which moves some authorities from the Council of Ministers to the Finance Ministry in a way that eases procedures and reduces administrative centralisation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The bill aims to provide the Cabinet with more time to focus on strategic works related to policy making, as stipulated in the mandating reasons for the draft law.

The Lower House also approved aborting the 2019 Land Records Law, due to the lack of need for the law after the 2019 Real Estate Law came into effect. 

Article 222 of the 2019 Real Estate Law stipulates having a by-law that determines procedures to be followed to preserve the real estate log in case of damage to any document, whether partial or total. 

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a July State Security Court (SSC) ruling the sentencing of a mechanic to 10 years in prison after convicting him of joining terrorist groups in Syria in 2014.

The court declared the defendant guilty of joining terror groups while he was residing in Syria in 2014 and handed him the maximum sentence.

Court papers said the defendant, whose father is Jordanian and mother is Syrian, was born in Yarmouk Camp in Syria but later moved to Jordan.

“The defendant went back to Syria in 2011 and started protesting against the Syrian regime,” court transcripts noted.

In 2014, court papers maintained, the defendant decided to “join Daesh terror group who were fighting in his area in Syria”.

"The defendant underwent training by the terror group and was taught to use a machinegun,” court transcripts said.

The court added that Daesh decided to delegate him as a mechanic to fix their vehicles, since this was his original profession.

"The defendant then decided to visit the Kingdom and travelled to Amman via Lebanon, but was arrested at Queen Alia International Airport on November 30 of last year," court papers said.

The defendant contested the verdict through his lawyer, who argued that the SSC’s verdict was “harsh” and that the defendant is “young and deserves a second chance in life”.

Meanwhile, the SSC's general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the ruling, stating that the court had abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The higher court ruled that the SSC had followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant and that he deserved the verdict he had received. 

“Reducing a sentence falls within the jurisdiction of the SSC and the court decided that he should not benefit from a reduction in penalty, and we also uphold this ruling,” the Court of Cassation said.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Bassim Mubeidin and Saeed Mugheid. 

AMMAN — Water pumping from the Kingdom’s main aquifers increased by 32 per cent between 2017 and 2018, according to a new study released on Monday, prompting a debate around the need to reconsider crop water allocation.

The study detected groundwater consumption patterns using satellite remote sensing applications, Ministry of Water and Irrigation Spokesperson Omar Salameh said on Monday.

“Results of the study will help decision-makers and farmers take informed decisions on the optimal crop water allocation while preserving groundwater from further depletion,” Salameh told The Jordan Times.

The study surveyed six of Jordan’s main aquifers that are also undergoing random pumping and thus dropping water levels, Salameh noted.

The aquifers are located in Azraq, Amman, Zarqa, the Dead Sea, Al Jafer and Yarmouk, according to the ministry.

Ministry of Water and Irrigation Secretary General Ali Subah said that the study measured the amount of extracted water from the above mentioned aquifers, noting that the ministry seeks to partner with the agriculture sector to review crop irrigation allocation.

“The study recommended rationing the consumption of groundwater after data showed that the amount of extracted groundwater increased from 6.6 million cubic metres of water in 2017 to 8.7 mcm in 2018,” Subah said at a workshop to announce results of the study.

The ministry has formed a national committee to reconsider the water allocations of crops, Subah said, noting that calculations of future crop allocations will depend on the results of the study.

He underscored that the agriculture sector will be involved in the process, highlighting that it is one of the ministry’s main partners.

Subah said that the ministry implemented the study in cooperation with the USAID/Jordan Water Management Initiative, noting that using satellite remote sensing “will help the ministry increase the efficiency of irrigation water”.

The government official highlighted the importance of preserving groundwater and limiting random pumping, noting that Jordan faces water challenges that are only exacerbated by population growth due to regional instability, climate change, dropping precipitation and rising temperatures.

AMMAN — In preparation for the launch of the Jordan Public Health Forum (JPHF), the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) held an introductory meeting for the forum’s advisory committee on EMPHNET premises in Amman.

The JPHF is expected to foster dialogue amongst stakeholders across the country to address prevailing public health trends and challenges, according to an EMPHNET statement. The JPHF will bring together leading figures, decision makers and stakeholders from multiple interrelated sectors to collaborate in finding innovative responses to public health matters.

The forum’s advisory committee comprises members with vast experience in the field of public health in Jordan, including former ministers of health, decision and policy makers and academics, as well as professionals working in local and international organisations and the private sector, the statement said. 

AMMAN — Jordanian Yara Khatibeh has won gold in the children’s gymnastics championship that was organised by the Gymnastics Federation of Russia.

Arab League Ambassador in Russia Jaber Jaber honoured Yara, who holds Jordanian and Russian nationalities, during a ceremony on the occasion of the Arab Expat Day in Russia that was held in Moscow last week, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.

Khataibeh, nine, has won several gold medals this year in gymnastics tournaments. Ali Khataibeh, Yara's father, said that his daughter started practising the sport at the age of six, noting that she is currently preparing for a tournament next week.