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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday met with Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) Ibrahim Azar and an accompanying delegation, a Royal Court Statement said.

The mee ting, held at Al Husseiniya Palace, focused on the efforts of Jordan, led by His Majesty, to defend the holy places in Jerusalem and preserve   their Arab identity, and encounter attempts to change its status quo.

The King stressed that Jordan will continue to undertake its historical and religious role as protector of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, in line with the Hashemite custodianship, with the aim of preserving the Arab, Muslim and Christian identity of the city.

For his part, Azar highlighted the importance of the Hashemite custodianship for protecting the holy places.

He commended His Majesty’s pro-peace efforts to bring about stability in the region, promote dialogue and spread the values of tolerance and moderation.

The bishop outlined the challenges that face the holy city, in light of Israel’s intention to levy taxes on properties of churches, which used to be exempted.

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh and the King’s Office Jafar Hassan attended the meeting.

ELCJHL has elected Azar as its bishop to succeed Bishop Munib Younan.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Labour on Sunday stressed that workers of “non-restricted nationalities” will be fined for overstaying without renewing their work permits, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The fines will amount to JD500 per year for every un-renewed permit, if paid after the end of the grace period given to them to rectify their statuses. In a statement released on Sunday, the ministry’s spokesperson Mohammad Khatib called on all employees and employers to rectify their status within the grace period, noting that this grants them an opportunity to benefit from exemptions, stressing that the ministry will continue its campaigns to ensure workers’ commitment to the labour laws and regulations.

The ministry decided to make Saturday an official working day during the legalisation period, and all labour departments will continue providing service in various governorates, he added. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during a working visit to Moscow. 

Discussion will focus on relations between both countries and the latest regional and international developments, especially the Syrian crisis, the peace process and the war on terrorism, according to a Royal Court statement.

Jordan has partnered with Russia and the US in creating and successfully sustaining a de-escalation zone in south Syria.

Meanwhile, the Royal Court announced that King Abdullah will meet on Wednesday with US State Secretary Rex Tillerson.

Tillerson is expected in Amman, as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait between February 11–16, a US embassy statement said.

In Jordan, Tillerson will “underscore the enduring strength of the US-Jordan relationship, engage with the Jordanian leadership on the conclusion of a new Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral assistance, and discuss key regional issues such as the ongoing crisis in Syria and Jordan’s support for Middle East peace”, the statement said.

The secretary will lead the US delegation to a ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Kuwait and participate in the Iraq Reconstruction Conference, according to the statement.

AMMAN — Jordan hosted on Sunday the 9th meeting of the Counter ISIL (Daesh) Finance Group, which aims to dry up the terror group’s sources of funding in preparation for its complete elimination, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the meeting, which was attended by 110 representatives of member countries and observer states, participants discussed progress made in efforts to block sources of funding the group’s terrorist operations, particularly after its military defeats in Syria and Iraq. 

Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor and Chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing National Committee Ziad Fariz stressed in his opening remarks that depriving Daesh from the core nerve of its work, money, is particularly important, as well as depriving it from the use of oil resources and other operations that fund its activities.  

Fariz said that Jordan, like any other country, has suffered from terrorism, which is why it has taken responsibility for combating the funding of terrorist groups. He stressed Jordan's commitment to this approach and the need for joint action to combat Daesh.

He said that the inclusion of the sponsoring countries of Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United States was important in reviewing the progress achieved in the counter finance fight, and the legal and administrative procedures followed by member states towards that end.

Participants were also expected to exchange information and ideas on methods used to combat the funding of terrorism.

Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing in the United States Department of the Treasury Marshall Billingslea conveyed the US government’s appreciation of the close relationship it enjoys with Jordan and the CBJ in combating terrorism financing.

Billingslea said that Daesh has been destroyed, having lost 95 per cent of the land that it has previously controlled and nearing the loss of remaining holds. He added that the meeting aims to discuss the end of Daesh and steps to deprive the group of their sources of funding.  

He noted that the meeting was planned to focus on various topics, including intelligence regarding Daesh sites and their activities as well as the activities of other terrorist groups present in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Tunisia and other countries apart from Syria and Iraq, according to Petra. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday sent a cable of condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin over a plane crash earlier in the day, which resulted in the death of everyone onboard, according to a Royal Court statement.

In the cable, King Abdullah expressed his deepest sympathies to President Putin and the families of the victims. A Russian passenger aircraft carrying 71 people crashed near Moscow on Sunday minutes after taking off, killing everyone onboard in one of the country's worst ever aviation disasters, Agence France-Presse reported.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Sunday discussed means of cooperation between the Kingdom and the UN refuge agency to meet the needs of Syrian refugees.

During the meeting, held at the Foreign Ministry, Safadi highlighted the importance for the international community to continue shouldering its responsibilities towards refugees and helping the Kingdom serve them, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister noted that Jordan bears immense burdens on the educational, health and infrastructure sectors due to hosting 1.3 million Syrians whose basic needs have to be met through sustainable international cooperation, adding that the Kingdom has exceeded its capacity as a host.

For his part, Grandi commended the distinguished humanitarian role of the Kingdom in helping refugees, stressing the agency's keenness to continue cooperation and coordination in addressing refuge challenges.

He added that Jordan has set an example to in hosting and assisting refugees, and that the commission would continue cooperating with Amman to help it meet refugees' needs.

In a tweet, Safadi wrote: “Excellent, effective cooperation between #Jordan, #UNHCR on addressing #Syria refugees needs. Discussed furthering this cooperation with Filippo Grandi @RefugeesChief. Grateful for the Commission's tremendous support.”

Meanwhile, the agency tweeted: “UNHCR @RefugeesChief Filippo Grandi highlights during his meeting with Mr. Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the strong efforts made by Jordan in welcoming refugees from 40+ nationalities.” 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday sent a cable to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulating him on the national day of the Islamic Republic of Iran, according to a Royal Court statement.

AMMAN — Jordan on Sunday rejected as groundless claims by media reports that weapons were being smuggled from Iraq into Jordan to the Palestinian refugee camps in the Kingdom.

The Jordanian borders with Iraq are completely under control by the authorities and the security apparatuses in the Kingdom, a source told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

"These border areas are provided with high security and surveillance systems as well as surveillance drones that are constantly in air to control the borders," the source added.

The source stressed that the residents of refugee camps in the Kingdom are Jordanian citizens who do not accept any state of chaos that would harm the country, “especially since they are all on the same boat and share the same stand in defence of the interests of the Kingdom”.

"Such fake news will only make Jordanians stronger as they defend their country and safeguard its stability and security under the leadership of the Hashemites," said the source.

Lebanon’s Addiyar newspaper published a report this week citing Iranian sources as saying that Iran was working on a plan to provide residents of Palestinian refugee camps in the region with weapons. 

The Lebanese newspaper claimed in its reports that weapons were being smuggled from Iraq into Jordan and then to these camps in the Kingdom.

There are 13 official UNRWA-run camps in Jordan, the majority of whose residents have been full citizens for decades. 

AMMAN — Under the directives of Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, the Jordanian embassy in Riyadh has announced that embassy staff will travel to Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province to offer consular services to the Jordanian community, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

The embassy informed citizens wishing to submit their paperwork that the team will begin its services from Thursday, February 15 until Saturday, February 17 from 9am to 5pm at the Signature Al Khobar Hotel.

AMMAN — Jordan is committed to implementing the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project despite repeated Israeli signals that it was withdrawing from the regional scheme, a source said on Sunday.

"It is clear that Israel is no longer interested in the Red-Dead Project given repeated news reports casting doubt on its necessity, feasibility and agenda," the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Jordan Times.

The official warned that Israel's frequently suggested withdrawal from the project and deliberate creation of stumbling blocks to hold the project back can "only hurt regional stability".

"We are ready to press ahead with the project, but Israel has been repeatedly hindering it for some time, now and this is disrupting regional cooperation and undermining the slightest chances for peace in the Middle East," the source noted.

A recent opinion article in The Jerusalem Post suggested that the project had a partisan political agenda, questioning Israel's need for the project.

In the article, the writer said that since Israel had already built several desalination plants, and an additional one in Jordan was "unnecessary", stressing that, if Jordan wanted its own desalination plant, Israel "should not have to pay for it".

In November last year, Israeli media reports claimed that Israel had told Jordan that a joint agreement for the construction of a pipeline transferring water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea would not go ahead until Israel is allowed to reopen its embassy in Amman.

A senior government source contacted by The Jordan Times, however, said that Jordan would go ahead with the Red-Dead project “with or without Israel”.

Jordan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Israel and Palestine in December 2013 to implement the first phase of the Red-Dead project. Under the first phase, a total of 300 million cubic metres (mcm) of water would be pumped each year. Eventually, up to 2 billion cubic metres of seawater will be transferred from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea annually, according to the Ministry of Water and Irrigation.

A total of 85-100mcm of water will be desalinated every year, while the seawater will be pumped out from an intake located in the north of the Gulf of Aqaba.

In addition, a conveyor will be extended to transfer desalinated water and a pipeline will be installed to dump the brine into the Dead Sea in order to stop its constant decline, estimated at one metre every year.

The Kingdom will receive an additional 50mcm of water from the Lake Tiberias Reservoir annually to be added to its share from the desalination station to provide Aqaba with water, according to the ministry.

The Red-Dead project’s main components will include a seawater intake structure; an intake pump station; a seawater pipeline; a desalination plant with a capacity of 65-85mcm per year; a desalination brine conveyance pipeline; two lifting pump stations; hydropower plants; and discharge facilities at the Dead Sea.

Under the signed MoU, Palestine will receive 30mcm of freshwater to cover its water deficit, while Israel will buy its share of 50mcm of desalinated water from the project at cost value, and sell Jordan the same amount of water in the northern Jordan Valley at a cost of JD0.27 per cubic metre.