London-Based Al-Quds al-Arabi:
Arab Ties to Collapse If Jordan Intrigue Revealed
BEIRUT (Dispatches) – An "Israeli” living in Europe made contact with Jordan’s Prince Hamzah bin Hussein over the weekend and offered to evacuate his family out of Jordan on a private jet, according to a report.
The Jordanian Ammon news agency, citing an "informed source”, claimed that Roy Shaposhnik had contacted the wife of former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein and offered to fly her out of the country with their children.
The report claimed that Shaposhnik was a former Mossad intelligence agency officer.
In a statement to Zionist news site Walla, however, Shaposhnik claimed that he was never a Mossad officer, but did confirm that he had offered to help Hamzah and his family as part of their personal friendship.
"I am an Israeli living in Europe. I never served in any role in the Israeli intelligence services. I am a close personal friend of Prince Hamzah,” he told Walla.
"During the weekend, Prince Hamzah told me about what happened in Jordan and I proposed him to send his wife and kids to stay in my house,” he added.
News outlets have described Shaposhnik as serving as an advisor to then-Zionist prime minister Ehud Olmert in the mid-2000s. He reportedly went on to work for Erik Prince, the controversial founder of Blackwater private security firm.
Hamzah, the 41-year-old half-brother of King Abdullah II and crown prince until 2004, had been detained at home on Saturday, though the government denied he had been arrested.
Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday that Hamzah and others were planning to "undermine the security” of Jordan, adding that a total of 14-16 people had been arrested on security charges.
Reuters quoted Safadi as saying that Hamzah had liaised with foreign powers and been under investigation for some time.
"The investigations had monitored interferences and communications with foreign parties over the right timing to destabilize Jordan,” Safadi said.
These included a foreign intelligence agency contacting Hamzah’s wife to organize a plane for the couple to leave Jordan, he said.
A senior Middle East intelligence official briefed on the events told the Washington Post that investigations were ongoing into an attempt to unseat the king. The Post reported that tribal leaders and members of the Jordanian security establishment were said to have been involved in the plot.
For the Jordanian public trying to get to the bottom of the alleged plot authorities said had been exposed over the weekend, the main question was "who are the foreign parties that Amman said want to destabilize the country”.
According to London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi, much confusion was sown by the arrests of several figures and detention of the former crown prince. Primarily this was over the question of the alleged "ambitions and delusions entertained by the prince and his close entourage, which coincided with suspicious contacts with foreign parties”.
"The issue is not related to a coup attempt, but it is rather about a security operation targeting groups with an ambition to stir chaos and destabilize Jordan, which means the prince’s group is accused of insulting the state and leaking information to external opponents, in addition to a seemingly other part of the case that has to do with the foreign agendas,” said the newspaper.
The daily added that if certain background information linked to the arrests is revealed in the near future, it is expected that some ties between Jordan and several Persian Gulf states will subsequently collapse, or will at least be restructured.
Al-Quds al-Arabi noted that the role of Bassem Awadallah, who is very close to the circles of influence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is of high importance to Jordanians.
Awadallah, the former chief of the royal court, is now an adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
In Jordan’s pro-government Al-Ghad newspaper, columnist Fahd al-Khaitan wrote that the state’s military and security institutions had been monitoring the situation from the beginning, followed up the parties’ moves carefully, and then decided the exact moment to interfere and set the record straight.”
The newspaper alleged that the prince contacted a number of high-profile people in Jordan urging them to incite against the state, in addition to seeking the help of the opposition abroad, "to realize plans that weaken Jordan’s position on major issues”.
Prince Hamzah maintained constant communications with Awadallah to coordinate his steps and movements, Al-Rai said.
Observers say the emerging divisions within the royal family in Jordan are fueled by heated competition among Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, the occupying regime of Israel as well as the U.S. and Britain.
Political rivalry having intensified among the regional states after the so-called Abraham Accords that saw several Arab states normalize their relations with the Zionist regime.
The ferocious intrigues being played behind the scenes burst into the public spotlight first in June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt suddenly severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.
However, divisions have also emerged among apparently close allies, including between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, especially over Yemen where their interests have diverged amid fierce jockeying for position in the war-torn country.
The Jordanian Ammon news agency, citing an "informed source”, claimed that Roy Shaposhnik had contacted the wife of former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein and offered to fly her out of the country with their children.
The report claimed that Shaposhnik was a former Mossad intelligence agency officer.
In a statement to Zionist news site Walla, however, Shaposhnik claimed that he was never a Mossad officer, but did confirm that he had offered to help Hamzah and his family as part of their personal friendship.
"I am an Israeli living in Europe. I never served in any role in the Israeli intelligence services. I am a close personal friend of Prince Hamzah,” he told Walla.
"During the weekend, Prince Hamzah told me about what happened in Jordan and I proposed him to send his wife and kids to stay in my house,” he added.
News outlets have described Shaposhnik as serving as an advisor to then-Zionist prime minister Ehud Olmert in the mid-2000s. He reportedly went on to work for Erik Prince, the controversial founder of Blackwater private security firm.
Hamzah, the 41-year-old half-brother of King Abdullah II and crown prince until 2004, had been detained at home on Saturday, though the government denied he had been arrested.
Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said on Sunday that Hamzah and others were planning to "undermine the security” of Jordan, adding that a total of 14-16 people had been arrested on security charges.
Reuters quoted Safadi as saying that Hamzah had liaised with foreign powers and been under investigation for some time.
"The investigations had monitored interferences and communications with foreign parties over the right timing to destabilize Jordan,” Safadi said.
These included a foreign intelligence agency contacting Hamzah’s wife to organize a plane for the couple to leave Jordan, he said.
A senior Middle East intelligence official briefed on the events told the Washington Post that investigations were ongoing into an attempt to unseat the king. The Post reported that tribal leaders and members of the Jordanian security establishment were said to have been involved in the plot.
For the Jordanian public trying to get to the bottom of the alleged plot authorities said had been exposed over the weekend, the main question was "who are the foreign parties that Amman said want to destabilize the country”.
According to London-based newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi, much confusion was sown by the arrests of several figures and detention of the former crown prince. Primarily this was over the question of the alleged "ambitions and delusions entertained by the prince and his close entourage, which coincided with suspicious contacts with foreign parties”.
"The issue is not related to a coup attempt, but it is rather about a security operation targeting groups with an ambition to stir chaos and destabilize Jordan, which means the prince’s group is accused of insulting the state and leaking information to external opponents, in addition to a seemingly other part of the case that has to do with the foreign agendas,” said the newspaper.
The daily added that if certain background information linked to the arrests is revealed in the near future, it is expected that some ties between Jordan and several Persian Gulf states will subsequently collapse, or will at least be restructured.
Al-Quds al-Arabi noted that the role of Bassem Awadallah, who is very close to the circles of influence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, is of high importance to Jordanians.
Awadallah, the former chief of the royal court, is now an adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
In Jordan’s pro-government Al-Ghad newspaper, columnist Fahd al-Khaitan wrote that the state’s military and security institutions had been monitoring the situation from the beginning, followed up the parties’ moves carefully, and then decided the exact moment to interfere and set the record straight.”
The newspaper alleged that the prince contacted a number of high-profile people in Jordan urging them to incite against the state, in addition to seeking the help of the opposition abroad, "to realize plans that weaken Jordan’s position on major issues”.
Prince Hamzah maintained constant communications with Awadallah to coordinate his steps and movements, Al-Rai said.
Observers say the emerging divisions within the royal family in Jordan are fueled by heated competition among Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, the occupying regime of Israel as well as the U.S. and Britain.
Political rivalry having intensified among the regional states after the so-called Abraham Accords that saw several Arab states normalize their relations with the Zionist regime.
The ferocious intrigues being played behind the scenes burst into the public spotlight first in June 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt suddenly severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.
However, divisions have also emerged among apparently close allies, including between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, especially over Yemen where their interests have diverged amid fierce jockeying for position in the war-torn country.