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AMMAN — Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi on Monday discussed with the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson over the phone the repercussions of the US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which Jordan considers a breach of the international law, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.  

Safadi briefed his American counterpart on the outcomes of the Arab foreign ministers meeting concluded in Cairo at dawn on Sunday, during which the officials stressed on a unified Arab stance to face the decision and called for its abolition.

Safadi discussed the anger the decision has sparked in the region and the world, stressing that the absence of political horizons and increased tension and frustration only serve extremists and their agendas.

The top diplomat emphasized the necessity of creating a political climate conducive for regional peace through efforts to implement the two-state solution in accordance with the agreed terms of reference and the Arab Peace Initiative, which call for establishing a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the lines of June 4, 1967, as the only way to achieve peace in the region.

Later, Safadi tweeted: “Spoke with Secretary Tillerson on fallouts of recognising #Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Informed him of Arab League stand against it as violation of Intl law Stressed 2-states solution only path 2regional peace. Only radicals benefit from growing tension, absence of horizons”. 

Safadi has been on the move over the past week, contacting his counterparts as part of Jordan’s diplomatic push to neutralise the repercussions of the US decision and launch an international drive to support Palestinians exercising their rights to freedom and an independent state on their national soil.

The foreign minister has also talked to High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Taro Kono.

He tweeted on Monday: “Grateful to @FedericaMog for her firm stand in support of justice, peace, stability, moderation. Her words on #EU unity against moving embassies to #Jerusalem, on East Jerusalem as capital of Palestine, on commitment to two-state solution reflect integrity, true belief in peace”.

AMMAN — The Islamic movement and popular and youth organisations  on Tuesday called for demonstrations in front of the US embassy in Amman on Wednesday at 2pm in response to Washington’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, according to a statement from the organisers.

Also on Tuesday, the Islamic movement and popular, youth and national movements called for a march on Friday after the Friday prayer starting from the Husseini Mosque in  downtown Amman, according to the organisers.

AMMAN — The Women’s Organisations in Jordan on Tuesday condemned US President Donald Trump’s announcement to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and to relocate US embassy to the holy city. The organisations expressed their “categorical rejection of this aggressive decision”, a statement from the Jordanian Women’s Movement (JWM) said.

“The resolution affects the reality and the future of the Palestinian cause and stands in the way of the Palestinian people’s right,” the statement said, adding that “such a dangerous decision, which stands in the face of the international community and turns its back on the resolutions of international legitimacy, will exacerbate the divisions and tensions throughout the world based on racism, especially in the occupied Palestinian territory.” The JWM reiterated its stance with the Palestinian cause and its support to the Palestinians struggle, calling for the US to “return from this unjust aggressive decision”.

AMMAN — Members of the Lower House’s finance committee on Tuesday discussed the 2018 draft budgets of the Labour Ministry and affiliated units.

MP Ahmad Safadi, head of the panel, said that an unemployment rate of 18 per cent requires effective and serious policies that contribute to addressing shortcomings in the labour market, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi said that the ministry has adopted a new mechanism, in cooperation with the International Labour Organisation, to limit high unemployment rates, noting that the economy in 2017 created 2.5 million jobs, of which 1.4 million were for Jordanians.

The committee also discussed the budget of the Social Security Investment Fund with its Executive Chairperson Suhair Al Ali and went over projects the fund implements. 

AMMAN — Head of Lower House’s Palestine Committee Yahya Saud on Tuesday met with Iran’s Ambassador to Jordan Mahabati Fardosi, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting at the Parliament, Saud called for unifying efforts of Muslim countries to address US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate the US embassy to the city.

Saud stressed the “deep-rooted” relations between Jordan and Iran and expressed appreciation for Iran’s role and support for Jordan’s stance in refusing Trump’s decision and its understanding of Jordan’s efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah to support the Palestinian cause.

The MP noted that Fardosi handed him an invitation to attend the parliamentary conference in Tehran, Petra said.

For his part, the ambassador praised the Jordanian role in protecting the Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem through the Hashemite custodianship, noting that Iran supports Jordan in regard of the US decision, which he described as an utter bias to the occupation.

He stressed his country’s keenness on enhancing Jordanian-Iranian bilateral relations and increasing visits.  

AMMAN — A regional workshop, organised by the Arab League, in cooperation with the Jordanian National Commission for Women and the regional office of UN Women, concluded on Tuesday in Amman.

The two-day workshop addressed means to develop national action plans to implement resolutions related to women, peace and security in the Arab region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Participants, representing 16 Arab countries, suggested establishing an Arab network related to women, peace and security issues, where the Arab League coordinates with member states on the tasks and structure of the network.

They also called for preparing national action plans and to consider the guidelines of the implementation of UN Resolution 1325 and other relevant resolutions.

AMMAN — The Roman Catholic Church scouts group has organised a celebration to give out gifts for less fortunate children, which were donated by the local community through the “Give” initiative, according to a statement by Give.

The campaign has been running for a few months, asking the local community to donate new and used toys in good condition for kids up to the age of 10.

Founder of the Give initiative Roufan Nahhas expressed his appreciation of the local community’s response, praising the efforts of the volunteers working with the non-profit initiative which aims to “show the community’s unity and give hope to children”.  

AMMAN — The State Security Court on Tuesday sentenced two defendants to seven years of hard labour and a fine of JD5,000 for planting marijuana seedlings on their house’s roof, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — The government and the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday signed a financing agreement to fund a programme to reform the education sector in Jordan with a value of $200 million.

The agreement was signed by Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and Vice President of the World Bank for Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem. 

The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Education Omar Razzaz and representatives of the main donor countries and organisations in the Kingdom.

In his remarks at the event, Fakhoury said that the agreement includes $147.7 million to be extended as a concessional loan from the WB blended with a contribution from the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) for $52.3 million that was approved by the GCFF Steering Committee at the end of October.

The repayment period of the loan extends over thirty-five years and includes a grace period of five years and a favourable interest rate, said the minister.

He pointed out that the funding will be directed to the general budget with a value of $192 million. It also includes a technical support component for the Education Ministry worth $8 million in line with the National Strategy for Human Resource Development 2016-2025.

The first installment of the programme will be transferred at a value of $77 million to the Treasury before the end of this month.

Fakhoury said that the results-oriented programme will assist the Education Ministry in implementing its new five-year plan, which is based on the human resources strategy.

The plan will focus on the following priorities: expanding access to and improving the quality of early childhood education, improving children’s teaching and learning conditions, reforming the student assessment system and certification and strengthening the management of the education system, according to the minister.

He added that it is expected that the number of beneficiaries of the programme will reach about 700,000 students, taking into consideration that Jordan provides government education services not only to Jordanians, but also to Syrian refugees. It will also provide training for more than 30, 000 teachers.

For his part, Ghanem said: “Quality education is at the centre of the economic and social development process, and that is why we are delighted to sign today’s agreement to be partners with Jordan in carrying out its ambitious reforms.”

Fakhouri noted that GCFF was launched last year by the World Bank, the UN and the Islamic Development Bank with the support of Japan, the UK, Germany, Canada, the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the EU.

He added that this facility came in response to Jordan’s official request to the WB in the spring of 2015 to find innovative and affordable financing mechanisms to respond to the needs of high middle income countries affected by conflicts and crises such as Jordan and Lebanon, which are, in principle, not eligible for concessional financing.

Jordan hosts around 1.3 million Syrian refugees, who have put tremendous pressure on the basic services provided to them and to host communities, said Fakhoury, adding: “Our countries are already facing financial and economic challenges and slowing growth rates, hence this initiative to alleviate the costs of soft loans provided.”

Jordan has benefited from this mechanism by $167.7 million to date in the form of grants, while soft loans amounted in value to $868.7 million, with an interest rate ranging between 1-2 per cent and long repayment periods.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday tasked its Legal Committee with preparing a legal challenge against the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to refer Jordan to the UN Security Council  for not arresting Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir when he visited Amman in March.

The government on Monday said that it was studying the decision, which, officials said, “did not take into account the immunity given to presidents”. 

The Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Mohammad Kayed said the ICC decision was a form of discrimination against Jordan, claiming that it had legal loopholes

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Bashir in 2009 and 2010 over his alleged role in war crimes including genocide in Sudan’s Darfur province. 

This March, Bashir attended the 28th Arab summit that was held on the eastern shores of the Dead Sea. He was invited by Jordan for the annual gathering of Arab leaders. Jordan then announced its abidance of the Arab Charter regarding the attendance of the Arab summit.

The House also passed the 2007 amendments to the Penal Code which came in line with Jordan’s ratification of the 1984 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.

“Torture” is defined in the agreement as, “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions”.

Under the 2007 amendments, a prison term from 1-3 years will be imposed on persons convicted with torture or temporary hard labour if the torture causes injury or sickness.