Jordan is known for its low profile in the troubled Middle East, but once it became involved in a “coup” or “palace fight,” the world’s attention could not escape it.
In the past few days, the Jordanian royal family has staged a shocking reversal of events – Prince Hamza, the half-brother of Jordan’s King Abdullah II, posted a video saying he was under military house arrest and accusing the government of being “corrupt and incompetent”, while Jordanian officials accused the prince of being involved in a coup attempt to “undermine national security and stability”.
It is a first for Jordan to have such a naked royal struggle.
Jordan has always been seen as an oasis of peace in the Middle East, with a relatively stable political situation. The fact that such a major member of the royal family is involved in such a controversy came as a surprise to the outside world. It was not only the nation’s citizens who were nervous, but also Jordan’s international allies and neighboring countries were sweating.
While everyone was shocked and worried, Prince Hamza suddenly bowed his head and swore his allegiance to the Jordanian king: “In light of the developments of the past two days, I am at the disposal of His Majesty the King and I will always assist and support him and his crown prince.” The royal family also said it would handle the incident “within the framework of the family”.
Thus, a rare “coup plot” in Jordanian history was resolved in just three days, and all was calm again.
But is there more to the calm than meets the eye?
The “palace drama” comes to an abrupt end
The first thing that sparked widespread concern was a video of Hamza’s confession.
On April 3, Hamza released a video through the BBC, saying that he and his wife and children were under “house arrest” at home and that his security personnel and communication equipment had been withdrawn.
In the video, Hamza said he was never involved in any “conspiracy” and that his only “crime” was “telling the truth. He accused the Jordanian ruling system of incompetence and corruption, repeatedly referring to “the people,” “the future” and “hope.
The same day, just before the release of the video, the Jordanian military issued a statement denying rumors of Hamza’s arrest, but in subtle terms – Hamza was “asked to stop activities that target the security and stability of the country.
The rumors of a coup plot were soon officially confirmed. The following day, Jordanian Foreign Minister Safadi announced that Jordan had foiled a campaign against national security involving a number of high-ranking figures in collusion with forces outside the country. more than 10 people were arrested, including former finance and planning ministers and other senior officials, as well as a cousin of the king, Ali bin Zayed.
According to an analysis by the Washington Post, such a level of arrest is rare for Jordan, where the political situation has always been stable. However, none of the specifics of the political conspiracy, and the extent to which the plotters involved carried it out, have been revealed by Jordanian officials.
Whether Hamza colluded with outside forces is clearly the focus of attention. Hamza has vehemently denied this in the video, while Safadi has dumped intercepted information about Hamza’s contacts with “foreign forces. Hamza’s wife allegedly contacted foreign intelligence agents who said they would provide Hamza with a plane to leave Jordan.
On the same day, Hamza’s mother, Noor, the fourth queen of the old King Abdullah I, also joined the melee. She tweeted that everything that had happened was “ill-intentioned slander” and that her son and others were “innocent victims.
However, the drama of the former dynasty and the harem had just started, but no one expected that the next episode would suddenly “brake” and skip the climax and go straight to the ending.
On April 5, the Jordanian royal family said that after the mediation of the former king’s brother, Prince Hassan, Hamza signed a pledge to support the king’s leadership and abide by the Kingdom’s constitution.
The statement was unexpected, but did not dispel speculation of a royal sibling rivalry, and Hamza has not appeared in public again.
Repeated “royal brother plotting against the king” scenario
Jordan is known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and the Hashemite in the name represents the Hashemite family. The Hashemite family is one of the oldest royal families in the world and a direct descendant of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and has long been known for its harmonious and loving family atmosphere.
In the video, however, Hamza claims that Jordan has repeatedly fallen through corruption, incompetence and tyranny over the past 20 or so years. Although the prince does not mention his older brother, King Abdullah II of Jordan, the period of Jordan’s decline he refers to – from 2001 to the present or 2006 to the present – coincides with the period when his older brother succeeded to the throne as king and later stripped him of his title of crown prince. Relations between the two men grew cold during this period.
The brothers are estranged, which is more or less related to the crown prince’s seat behind the scenes.
According to foreign media reports, among the 11 children, the old king’s favorite one is Hamza, often publicly praised him, said “happy to see him”, and his mother Queen Noor also tried to make his son become the heir to the throne.
In 1999, at the age of 59, King Abdullah I died of an illness. Hamza was 19 years old at the time and had just returned from his studies at Harrow Public School and the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England, and was young and junior. Shortly before his death, the old king decided to install his eldest son from his second wife, Hamza’s half-brother Abdullah II, as crown prince. After Abdullah succeeded to the throne, Hamza was installed as crown prince in accordance with the old king’s wishes and the Arab world’s tradition of “brother in law”.
In 2004, five years after the death of the old king, the royal brother’s throne is secure, and the royal brother is not yet rich, Abdullah II turned to abolish Hamza, the crown to his 26-year-old eldest son, giving the explanation that “the crown prince status has no real power, limiting the opportunity for Hamza to assume more responsibility.
This set of “abolition of brother to son” operation, the outside world is not surprised, because Abdullah II himself was the “son”.
According to the New York Times, Abdullah II had just replaced the old king’s brother, Prince Hassan, as crown prince a few weeks before the old king’s death. Coincidentally, it was the same Prince Hassan who made Hamza sign a pledge to be a peacemaker during the court battle.
Foreign media analysis believes that since Hamza’s crown prince status was abolished, his relationship with his royal brother began to strain.
The empty cave may not be without reason. In terms of looks, Hamza’s features are very similar to those of the legendary old king, while the current king’s mother is British and relatively westernized in appearance, not the traditional Arab look.
-Hamza’s wedding scene, from right to left, Mr. and Mrs. Abdullah II, Queen Noor and Mr. and Mrs. Hamza.
In addition, in recent years, Hamza has been visiting the elders of various tribes in Jordan from time to time, and his grounded style has filled the public’s favor, making him quite popular among the tribes and Jordanians on the East Bank.
In 2018, Hamza publicly called for a crackdown on corruption to “rebuild trust between the state and the people.”
It is more or less obvious to outsiders that Hamza wants to take advantage of his popularity to “set up a new government”.
May push for a more stable succession system
With the Jordanian royal family releasing a statement later on April 5 that King Abdullah II and Prince Hamza had agreed to mediate and deal with the incident “within the framework of the family,” the fast-moving Jordanian royal drama appears to have settled down.
However, foreign media analysis points out that the crisis is far from over, but only the intricacies of the conflict are hidden behind the scenes. The status of Prince Hamza and the others arrested, and whether the charges of “destabilizing the country” against them are still valid, are still big question marks.
For now, the U.S. and Gulf states have generally chosen to side with Abdullah II, who has ruled Jordan for 22 years.
State Department spokesman Price said the U.S. is closely following the reports and that “King Abdullah II is a key partner for the United States and he has our full support.”
The Saudi royal family fully supports the decisions and measures taken by the Jordanian king and crown prince to maintain security and stability. Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait and the Arab League have also expressed their support for Abdullah II.
The international community’s attitude also reflects Jordan’s strategic position in the Gulf region.
Jordan, with its stable political situation, has always been considered an “oasis of peace” and plays a role in easing tensions and maintaining regional stability in the war-torn Middle East. At the same time, Jordan is surrounded by Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and other countries, and is the world’s second largest refugee host country. If Jordan is thrown into chaos by royal infighting, it will inevitably affect many neighboring countries and harm the interests of many parties. As a result, there is an unspoken choice to leave things as they are.
On the other hand, Jordan is really good at solving problems behind closed doors, and it is obviously more appropriate to treat royal “turmoil” as a “family matter.
However, Jordan has not been a peaceful place recently. Difficulties in fighting the epidemic, the domestic economy is also worrying, and social discontent has given the opposition “Herak” the opportunity to stir up disputes. This may have reinforced Abdullah II’s determination to put the “family business” to rest as soon as possible.
Some media said that the storm in Jordan “is the beginning of a crisis rather than the end. But some analysts believe that Jordan may take the recent storm as a reason to carry out a series of reforms, such as the establishment of a more stable succession system, to avoid the re-emergence of the royal family split in the future.
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