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AMMAN — Amman is the only Arab city that can brag about having a complete town from Islamic times with all of its components, according to Ignacio Arce, associate professor at the German Jordanian University (GJU).

He made the remarks during a conference at the Cervantes Institute of Amman on Thursday about the new archaeological discoveries in Amman’s Citadel and Qasr Al Hallabat organised by the Spanish Archaeological Mission to Jordan. 

“Amman is the only Arab city that can brag about having a complete city from Islamic times with all of its components: the baths, the mosque, the bazaar square, etc.,” said Arce during the event.

“Our biggest discovery is that there wasn't just a palace, but also a palatial city with it."

Ignasio Arce explained their discoveries in Qasr Al Hallabat which was originally built as a Roman fortress and then became an Umayyad palace. “We wanted to know what happened between those periods."

The Spanish Archaeological Mission to Jordan found the previous existence of a monastery and palace after the abandonment of the Roman fortress. 

“These findings showed us the presence of the Ghassanids which were Arab tribes christianised and were part of the Roman defensive strategy against the Persians,” Arce explained. 

The archaeologist said: “We have found this pattern all over the region in these castles placed in remote areas to defend the borders of the Roman Empire.” 

In Qasr Al Hallabat, the Spanish Archaeological Mission to Jordan also discovered the oldest Islamic garden conserved.

Arce highlighted the improvements that the discovery of the palatial city brought to Amman: “We accomplished our goal which was to put the city of Amman in the touristic map and make people stay in the capital for at least a day.”

 “We wanted to redistribute the flow of tourists to economically deprived areas but with great historical and cultural wealth,” Arce said. 

The Spanish archaeologists try to make the local communities aware of their land’s richness and teach them the necessary techniques to exploit them, he said.

“Besides creating new opportunities for their socioeconomic development, we aim to reinforce their pride when they become actors in the recuperation and restoration of their cultural patrimony,” explained the archaeologist. 

Arce has been chief of the Spanish Archaeological Mission to Jordan during more than 20 years. The mission focused all their efforts in Amman’s Citadel since 1995 to 2001 and since then, they have been working in the desert castles. 

Currently, Arce is an associate professor at the GJU and he is in charge of the Architectural Conservation Master Programme. 

“My aim is to make Jordan the regional centre of patrimony reconstruction,” Arce expressed. The master programme is addressed to Jordanian and Syrian refugees to teach them how to reconstruct their cultural patrimony once the war ends. 

DHAHRAN — Jordan will submit a report highlighting its achievements during the presidency of the 28th Arab summit to the 29th meeting of the Arab leaders that will start in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

The report of achievements, a copy of which was obtained by The Jordan Times, highlights Jordan's success in addressing various issues amidst a plethora of challenges and political, security and military developments in the region during its presidency of the summit.

In the report, Jordan will highlight its focus on the Palestinian issue and efforts to end the stalemate in the peace process by relaunching peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis on the basis of the two-state solution leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Since it took over the presidency of the summit, Jordan stood up to all unilateral Israeli measures seeking to alter the situation on the ground and undermine the two-state solution, including the illegal settlements activities and the confiscation of lands, according to the report.

Jordan also intensified its communication with the international community to pressure Israel to stop its arrogance and its unilateral measures, according to the report.

The report highlights His Majesty King Abdullah's intensified meeting at all arenas to stress that the Arab peace initiative was the key for ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Jordan, Palestine and Egypt agreed to set a coordination mechanism to deal with the development related to the Palestinian issue and address challenges though unified stances, according to the report.

Jordan continued to exert relentless efforts to safeguard the holy Islamic and Cristian sites in Jerusalem as a custodian of the holy sites in the city, and the Kingdom continued to make efforts to preserve the legal and historic status of Jerusalem and its Arabic and Islamic identity, the report said.

The Kingdom succeeded in ending stopping Israeli aggressions on Al Aqsa Mosque and following Jordan's efforts Israel removed metal detectors from entrances to Al Aqsa Mosque compound, the report showed.

Following US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Jordan called for an emergency meeting at the Arab League and stressed its rejection of the US decision and its consequences.

The meeting resulted in tasking a committee representing the Arab Peace Initiative committee to work with the international community and international organisations to curb the consequences of the US decision, the report indicated.

The Kingdom hosted a meeting for Arab ministers to follow up on Trump's decision and intensified its meetings and visits to several key capitals to limit the consequences of the US decision.

The report indicated that Jordan continued to engage in efforts with the US administration to push for a just and lasting peace plan that fulfills the legitimate rights of the Palestinians in line with the international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative.

Jordan also continued to support the steadfastness of the Muslim and Christian Jerusalemites out of strong belief that safeguarding Jerusalem necessitates supporting the Jerusalemites, it indicated.

As part of its support to the Palestinian refugees, which is one of the key final status issues, Jordan continued to work with the international community and warned against the serious consequences of cut in aid to UNRWA.

Jordan, in cooperation with Egypt and Sweden, called for an international conference in Rome to intensify support to the UN agency.

The conference succeeded in bringing back the Palestinian issue on the top of the international community's agenda.

The report will also highlight Jordan's efforts in addressing several issues including the crisis in Syria, where Jordan succeeded in reaching a deal with the US and Russia to create a de-escalation zone in the south of Syria paving the way for a political solution, and making it easier for aid delivery to Syria without any obstacles.

Jordan continued to work with the international community and urge it to support countries that host Syria refugees.

The report also highlights Jordan's efforts in combating terrorism and initiatives to boost economic and trade cooperation among the Arab states, as well as other issues.

AMMAN — Government officials, political activists and parliamentarians met on Saturday to discuss the 2016 Elections Law and find ways to amend it to reach a “Parliamentary” government in the near future.

Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of State Musa Maaytah said it is important to “find means to empower the political parties in Jordan to ensure their strong presence in the Lower House of Parliament”.

 “We have 47 licensed political parties in Jordan and the 2016 Elections Law encouraged the proportional list, which should help in increasing the number of political parties’ representation in the Lower House, but this is not the case because there is only one visible list,” Maaytah said.

The minister added that the civil society and the political parties should unite to ensure better representation in the Lower House of Parliament because this will reflect positively on the political life in Jordan.

The minister’s remarks were made during a one-day workshop entitled, “Towards an early national dialogue to revise the 2016 Elections Law”, that was held by Al Quds Centre for Political Studies (QCPS), the Jordanian Parliament Monitor (JPM) and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI).  The event was held at the Marriot Hotel in Amman.

A study conducted by QCPS, NDI, JPM and supported by USAID on the “Affects of the 2016 Elections Law on the structure and performance of the 18th Parliament” indicated that the law did not contribute in making any difference on the situation of the political parties’ representation in the Lower House.

“The number of winning deputies from the declared political parties stood at 15, while the number of undeclared political parties members who clinched seats in the 18th Lower House election stood at 23,” according to the study.

“The 2016 Elections Law failed to create the necessary circumstances to help enough political parties’ members to reach the Lower House and eventually create a parliamentary government,” the study revealed.

The main objective of the event, according to the Director of QCPS Oraib Rantawi, was to launch new and early initiatives to reform the electoral system in Jordan.

“We believe that the electoral system is the backbone of the political reform process because it is the most important legislation that the Parliament can approve after the Constitution,” Rantawi told The Jordan Times.

It is important to have a strong multi-party Parliament and to end up with a Parliamentary government, Rantawi added.

“It is important also to renew the elite in this country and not to keep recycling the elite and have them assume political positions,” Rantawi stressed.

He said he was hopeful that the participants will come up with recommendations in additions to the ones provided by his centre “to the government, Parliament and political parties in order to take it from there and activate the political and reform process in our country”, Rantawi added.

“Our role is to come with initiatives to encourage fresh idea and to enrich the public debate and to encourage the political parties and the civil society to pressure the government to adopt the recommendations,” said Rantawi.

The study made several recommendations to the government including “introducing amendments to the 2016 Elections Law to designate at least half the seats in the Lower House of Parliament for national and political lists”.

The study also recommended providing financial funding to the political parties to support its participation in the elections.

Another recommendation called for increasing the women’s representation in the Lower House of Parliament to at least 30 per cent to ensure gender equality and better representation for women in the highly populated areas.

Meanwhile, NDI Senior Country Director Arianit Shehu praised the Kingdom and its people for “always being one or two steps ahead on your pragmatic, progressive political reform path”.

“It is impressive to see senior government officials, current and former MPs, a wide specter of the political parties and ideologies, civil society, media, academics and political analysts coming together to debate the important issue of election reform,” Shehu told The Jordan Times. 

The NDI official said the Jordanian political reform issues need to continue to be debated and resolved by Jordanians through constructive dialogue that is build around inclusiveness, transparency and accountability.

The importance of this debate becomes even greater and sets an example of a constructive reform process in this region marred by turmoil, violence and wars, Shehu added. 

“I hope this is only the beginning of an open and inclusive political discourse ahead of the next election scheduled for 2020,” he stated.

Shehu stressed that the NDI will continue to support such avenues of communication and a public discourse among Jordanians to debate and decide on important issues for the benefit  and for the prosperous future of Jordan. 

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Thursday said that the window for a solution to the Palestinian issue is narrowing, thanks to the Israeli occupation’s policies that are making peacemaking increasingly difficult. 

He made his remarks as he presided over the Arab League’s foreign ministers meeting that met in Riyadh to prepare for the leaders summit on April 15, where he handed over the meeting’s presidency to his Saudi counterpart Adel Al Jubair. 

Safadi said that chances of solving Arabs’ central issue, Palestine, are becoming increasingly weaker as the Israeli occupation is moving ahead with its illegal practices that undermine efforts to implement the two-state solution, the formula accepted by Arabs and the entire world as the only means to realise comprehensive and permanent peace, he pointed out.

Peace is Arabs’ strategic choice, he added, and the road towards peace is clear as stated in the Arab Peace Initiative: Ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the pre-1967 lines.

On Jerusalem, he said that His Majesty King Abdullah, the custodian of its Muslim and Christian holy sites, has always stressed it is a red line. The city has to be a symbol of peace rather than a place of despair, Safadi told his peers. 

Meanwhile, the top diplomat stressed that the Arab League is the only framework for joint Arab action geared towards solving crises, conflicts and divisions in the Arab world. 

Safadi said that the Arab summit is held at a difficult time, where challenges snowball, risks increase and the confidence of Arab peoples decline in efforts undertaken to address the region’s woes.

Arabs can face these challenges through restoring the momentum to their joint action, the minister said, as cited by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Joint efforts can end the Israeli occupation, stop civil wars and their devastating repercussions, address poverty and defeat ignorance and dark ideologies, especially that all Arabs are paying the price of the current situation in the neighbourhood, he added.

In his speech, Safadi expressed condolences to the Algerian people over the loss of lives in the Wednesday crash of a military plane.

He also condemned the Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, expressing Amman’s support for Riyadh.

Arabs have to resume efforts to end the crisis in Syria, where the solution cannot be reached through military force. Arabs have to join efforts to reach a political solution, as they are the most affected by the crisis’ repercussions and have to take the lead in endeavours to bring the crisis to a halt.

It is also necessary to join efforts to stop the fighting and support Geneva talks to reach a political solution based on the UN Resolution 2254, which calls for preserving the unity of the country, he added.

Meanwhile, Safadi said that terrorism is Arabs’ common enemy that clashes with their values of peace and respect for others. 

The minister added that the Kingdom is committed to continued contribution to the war on terrorism through full partnership with Arab players and the international community to safeguard pan-national security and the rights of Arabs to live in safety and stability. 

Throughout its presidency of the Arab summit, Jordan has been busy in efforts to activate joint Arab action to serve common interests and overcome crises, according to the minister, who said His Majesty is leading relentless efforts in coordination with Palestinians and Arabs to ensure justice for Palestinians.

Similar efforts have been exerted to reach a political solution in Syria, end the crisis in Yemen in line with UN Security Council Resolution2216, and arrive at a national consensus in Libya that guarantees a better future for the country and its people, Safadi noted.

In his remarks, Jubeir denounced the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, praising the international consensus in rejecting the step, which, he said, would hinder efforts to reach a solution for the Arab-Isralei conflict.

The Saudi diplomat said that Iran and terrorism are inseparable, noting that it was Tehran that supplied the Houthis in Yemen with more than 117 ballistic missiles to launch them against Saudi cities.

For his part, Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said that the Iranian interference is a source of concern for all Arabs, adding that “neighbours should know that when it comes to threatening Arab lands or the sovereignty of states, Arabs will have unified voice and action”.

In regard to the Palestinian issue, Aboul Gheit said that the issue is facing serious challenges represented by the US unilateral and illegitimate decision to recognise Jerusalem as capital of Israel and to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.

On the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, Safadi met separately with UN Envoys to Staffan de Mistura and to Libya Ghassan Salame.

During the meeting, Mistura stressed the need to form an independent committee to investigate the reports on the chemical attacks in Syria recently, stressing that there must a response to such heinous attacks.

For his part, Salame outlined the latest developments in the Libyan crisis, noting intentions to hold municipal elections toward the end of April.

He also said that after Ramadan, a national forum would be held to allow the Libyan people to determine the future of their country.         

AMMAN — Results of an ongoing exploration programme of copper and associated minerals in Dana Biosphere Reserve will determine whether mining in the globally recognised nature sanctuary will be allowed, according to a conservationist.

 Mining copper in Dana reserve has been a longstanding issue rejected by environmentalists who claim that mining activities will harm the unique ecosystems of the reserve, established and managed by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) since 1989.

 RSCN Director General Yehya Khaled said that the society has always refused mining of copper or any other minerals in Dana reserve, noting that mining activities in a reserve should be completely or almost inexistent.

Ahmad Husami, media and communication manager at Manaseer Group, the local energy and mining giant responsible for the exploration stressed that the company is in the process of exploring the project's feasibility, underlining that it places environment protection among its main priorities.

“We are coordinating with the Ministry of Environment and the RSCN at every step to avoid affecting Dana reserve's nature, and we are taking every precautionary measure to this end," he said. 

Khaled said that the RSCN, the custodian on Jordan’s nature, decided to allow the exploration programme because the Kingdom is witnessing an economic crisis.

 “Some policy makers are strongly convinced that the reserve’s western part holds commercial amounts of copper and they eye the RSCN as the villain stopping Jordan from tapping [its natural resources],” Khaled told The Jordan Times.

 Spread over 300 square kilometres, the reserve is located in Tafileh Governorate, 180km southwest of the capital. Dana is Jordan’s largest and most diverse nature reserve with 833 types of vegetation constituting 50 per cent of the total flora of the country.

 The nature reserve is globally important for being the southernmost remaining forest community of pencil pine and for containing three rare plants that exist only in Dana and are named after the area: Silene danansis, Micromeria danaensis and Rubia danaeansis.

 Dana is also an important bird-watching site as it is home to 216 kinds of birds, many of which are globally threatened, and 38 mammals.

 Manaseer Group announced in March that it had started exploration for copper and associated minerals in Dana reserve, earmarking $600 million for the two-year project that will cover over 106sq.km.

 A subsidy of the group, the Jordanian Integrated Company, will handle the project, the company said, indicating that the commencement of the plan came two years after Manaseer Group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, giving the company the licence to carry out copper mining in the reserve. 

“We have reached a deal under which Manaseer does a detailed feasibility study on how much copper is there and if the amounts are really worth billions as geologists and officials claim,” Khaled said.

 If the amounts prove insufficient, the project will be stopped by the company but, if the reserve does prove to be home to commercial amounts of copper and other minerals, different scenarios to reduce mining impact on Dana reserve are available, according to the conservationist.

“The options include expanding certain zones of the reserve in exchange for letting go parts of it,” Khaled explained.

 The company has already collected surface samples, according to Husami, who said that samples from below surface and deeper points will be collected this month and that the exploration programme will end in October of this year.

 The group said studies had already been conducted by international firms and Jordan's national resources authorities, while an environment impact study is under way, in cooperation with the Royal Scientific Society.

 According to a 2015 study by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Wadi Faynan Area, where Dana lies, has around 20 million tonnes of copper reserves. The price of the metal on international markets exceeded $7,000 last month. 

AMMAN — The Jordan Press Association (JPA) on Thursday denounced a recent call by a group of MPs to the government to ban media outlets' coverage of cases being looked into by the judiciary.

In a statement on Thursday, JPA said that MPs' request "reflects clear ignorance of the constitutional and legal rules" regulating media outlets' coverage of court sessions and judicial matters.

Earlier this week, 35 deputies signed a memorandum requesting that the government issues legal measures to prevent print, visual and media outlets from publishing reports on cases currently looked into by courts.

In their memo, a copy of which was made available to The Jordan Times, signatories said that their call is meant to prevent any media's influence on the outcome of court proceedings and to protect the society from rumours.

JPA said that MPs, as legislators, "should be fully aware of the already in place laws and rules governing the court proceedings and media outlet's coverage of judicial matters".

The JPA Council also said that it was "shocking" that legislators are "ignorant" of the constitutional provisions stipulating that court hearings shall be open to all unless tribunes decide otherwise.

According to Paragraphs A of Article 101 of the Constitution, "The courts shall be open to all and shall be free from any interference in their affairs," while Paragraph B reads: "The sittings of the courts shall be public unless the court considers that it should sit in camera in the interest of public order or morals."

"The JPA Council is really regretting the 35 MPs' request at the time the JPA expects the Lower House to be the fortress defending people's right to information and expression," the statement read.

The Council calls on MPs to withdraw their signatures because "their memo contradicts with existing constitutional and legal rules and with the principle of free expression guaranteed by the Constitution."

In remarks to The Jordan Times, JPA council member Khaled Qudah said MPs' request is at variance with the constitutions, Courts Law and the press freedoms and freedom of speech.

He explained that the JPA Law also regulates media outlets' coverage of court proceedings and contains disciplinary measures against journalists in case their reporting of judicial matters violates the laws and constitutional rules.  

AMMAN — The Jordan Times photo journalist Osama Aqarbeh said he filed a lawsuit against police on Tuesday after he was "attacked and insulted" by policemen while he was covering the robbery incident of the money exchange shop in Amman.

Aqarbeh said he was detained and under arrest by police and was "badly treated and insulted" on Wednesday night while he was on official mission covering the robbery incident of Al Alawneh Money Exchange Shop in Amman's Wasfi Tel Street in Gardens.

"I introduced myself as The Jordan Times journalist to a policeman standing there [near the money exchange shop] and he was polite but then his colleagues came and tried to drag me into a police car," Aqarbeh said on Thursday.

"They were pressuring me and tried to take my mobile phone and force me to delete the pictures in it… They were insulting me and my newspaper, and the Jordan Press Association [JPA]"

Aqarbeh said he filed a lawsuit against the Public Security Department (PSD) through the JPA.

The PSD was not available for comment on the issue.

JPA President Rakan Saaideh voiced the association's keenness on ensuring "full" protection for journalists while doing their job without any hindrances or conditions.

"Any restrictions to journalists' rights are completely rejected and denounced as they are against the Constitution and the relevant conventions Jordan has rectified," Saaideh told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Saideh said that the JPA Council will follow up on Aqarbeh's complaint with the PSD to make sure that justice is served.

The JPA president also called on the PSD to take all necessary measures to ensure "complete freedom" for journalists while covering events and incidents and to offer them all facilities. 

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Thursday highlighted the importance of reaching a clear agreement between the government and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC) regarding financial issues.

Tarawneh’s remarks came during a meeting with JPRC Chairman Walid Asfour and other company members, during which the speaker said that the company has to speed up preparing the necessary technical study on producing oil derivatives that match technical standards, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Asfour said that it reached some agreements with the government, including allocating 30 per cent of oil derivatives’ market in the Kingdom for JPRC after the exclusive contract ends on May 1. Also on Thursday, Tarawneh met with a delegation from the Jordan Chamber of Industry and highlighted the significance of having a comprehensive law that encompasses all industrial sectors, Petra added.

AMMAN — Jordan will participate in the 20th edition of the International Saudi Exhibition “Buildex 2018” scheduled to be held in Dhahran International Exhibitions Centre on Sunday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In a statement, the organisers stressed the importance of the exhibition in the construction sector, as a platform for manufacturers and distributors to showcase a range of products and services.

They said it witnesses the participation of many international organisations each year and is attended by specialists in the construction and equipment sectors, in addition to engineers and experts in the field.

Organisers said that the number of companies to display their products this year will exceed 130 exhibitors, 30 of which are international. 

AMMAN — Police on Thursday said they aborted an attempt to rob a money exchange shop in a busy street in Amman on Wednesday night.

A hooded man entered Al Alawneh Money Exchange Shop located in Wasfi Tel street in Gardens at around 10:30pm and reportedly “waved a weapon later determined to be made of plastic and demanded cash”, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Sartawi said.

“We were able to abort a robbery with the help of the security guard and shop employees and discovered that the suspect was carrying a fake weapon,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The police official said the suspect will be referred to the concerned authorities for further questioning and indictment.

The owner of Al Alawneh Exchange Shop Ayman Alawneh told The Jordan Times that no one was injured in the incident.

“We were lucky that the guard at our shop reacted quickly and controlled the man with the help of our employees while the police arrived within minutes from sounding the alarm and contributed in arresting him,” Alawneh told said.

He added that the teller handed the suspect JD10,000 and $12,000 but all was retrieved on the spot.

A video went viral allegedly showing a hooded man standing at the door of the shop while pointing a weapon at a man standing in front of him with his hands up.

This is the sixth reported attack on a financial institute in Jordan over the past two months.      

Five banks were robbed in various parts of Amman in January, February and April. Four of the five robbers were arrested and one, who escaped with JD98,000 in cash, remains at large.