‘Foreign Ministry following up on case of Jordanian detained in Israel’

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it is following up on the case of Jordanian Malek Khabbas, who was recently arrested by Israeli authorities.

“We started following up with all concerned authorities since media outlets circulated the news on Tuesday,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafei told The Jordan Times over the phone.

She said Khabbas’ family on Wednesday submitted a plea to the ministry to follow up on the case, refusing to disclose further information at the moment. 

Khabbas, a Jordanian engineer, was arrested on April 30 while returning from a visit to relatives in Palestine, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by Fedaa, the media team supporting Jordanian prisoners in Israel. 

His mother told Fedaa that she was coming back to Jordan with her son after attending a relative’s wedding, when Israeli forces summoned him for questioning at the King Hussein Bridge.

The mother said she waited for around three hours before she was told that Malek had been apprehended, without the Israelis giving any reasons, according to the statement.

Malek graduated from the Jordan University of Science and Technology’s civil engineering department last year.

Malek’s brother told Fedaa that the family has had no news about him since the day he was detained, adding that the family is worried about his health condition.

The total number of Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails now stands at 26, according to Fedaa.