The King of Jordan claimed that the authorities had violated an act of sedition with the weekend arrests of a former crown prince and 17 other people, describing the events as “the most painful” ordeal of his reign.
“Nothing can come close to the shock, the pain and the anger I felt, as a brother and head of the Hashemite family and as a leader of this dear people,” the king said in a statement Wednesday.
Speaking four days after Prince Hamzah was detained, King Abdullah said that his stepbrother was “at home under my protection” and that the former heir to the Jordanian throne had offered him loyalty.
The late remarks did little to mask the worst public rupture in the ruling family in 20 years, and did not provide any clarification from officials’ claims that a foreign government had staged a coup in which Hamzah was in the final stages of organization.
However, they have drawn attention to the dilemma facing Abdullah, who, avoiding a public address, seeks to challenge his authority without being seen to test the allegiances of the country’s powerful tribes. Hamzah was a popular and charismatic royal, but the depth of his ties to Jordanian society remains unclear.
Where tribes are linked to the arrests of alleged conspirators, it is essential to the fate of a monarch assailed by the economic hardships that have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic decline entered Jordan’s strong patronage networks and strained the accommodation between the ruler and the clans that had underpinned the kingdom for decades.
Hamzah released two defiant and extremely unusual video statements while under house arrest, and a recording of his meeting with the Jordanian military chief came on Monday.
King Abdullah claimed that Hamzah, whom he dismissed as heir in 2004 in favor of his son, has now signed a pledge of support. “He pledged to the Hashemite family to follow in the footsteps of his parents and grandparents, to be true to their message, and to put the interests of Jordan, its constitution, and its laws above all other considerations.
“The challenge of the past few days was not the most difficult or the most dangerous for the stability of our country, but it was the most painful for me, because the troubles and discord were inside and outside the same house.”
What has been described as the Jordanian version of the Crown has fueled intrigue across the country and the region and sparked widespread speculation about the foreign country allegedly behind a conspiracy by Foreign Minister Ayman al-Qaeda. Safadi suggested he was stopped at “Zero Hour.”
Saudi Arabia flatly denied any involvement and described allegations that it had contacted Hamzah and key aides as “nonsense”. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan flew to Amman on Wednesday to meet with Safadi. Officials said the visit was aimed at “expressing full solidarity with the King of Jordan Abdullah and his government”.
Joe Biden called Abdullah on Wednesday, reiterating US support for a regional partner that had been central to Washington’s regional security projection for decades, but whose role had diminished under the Trump administration.
Biden said he intends to return the relationship to a more conventional basis, supporting a monarch who was a base in the fight against the Islamic State, while protecting Israel’s eastern border through a long-term security pact.