The Jordanian official newspaper Al-Rai said on Sunday that the higher interests, security and stability of the kingdom were “a red line” not to be crossed, after the arrest of relatives of the royal family for “security reasons”.
The Jordanian army announced on Saturday that two people close to the royal family had been arrested for “security reasons”, claiming that Prince Hamza, King Abdullah II’s half-brother and former crown prince, had been called on to stop the crimes. activities that could threaten the stability of the kingdom.
In a video transmitted to the BBC by his lawyer, Prince Hamza said on Saturday that he was “under house arrest” in his palace in Amman.
“The security operation yesterday (Saturday) is the expression of a red line that does not allow to be crossed when it comes to the superior interests of the kingdom, its security and its stability”, writes the newspaper in a.
“Some people are trying to imagine an attempted coup in Jordan, and they are trying to implicate Prince Hamza”, continues Al Rai, the only newspaper to comment on this event.
For the newspaper, “certain acts of the prince (Hamza) were knowingly used to undermine the security and the stability of Jordan”.
“Those who know the history of Jordan are well aware that this kind of situation happens from time to time. They also know that any attempt to destabilize this century-old country or to separate the people from their leadership are doomed to failure, ”the newspaper concludes.
The semi-governmental newspapers al-Dostour and al-Ghad, for their part, reproduced official statements about these arrests without comment.
For its part, the American daily Washington Post indicated that Prince Hamza was prohibited from leaving his Amman palace as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to overthrow King Abdullah II.
According to the state-run Petra news agency, authorities arrested a former king’s adviser, Bassem Awadallah, and others for “security reasons.”