Jordan - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Jordan cover image

Jordan

November 20, 2024

Amman 5:34 pm

18°C

People wave Palestinian and Jordanian flags and chant slogans as they march during a demonstration near the US embassy in the capital Amman in solidarity with the people of Gaza on December 15, 2023, amid the continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite Israel's war in Gaza, Jordan stability holds & security forces' grip firm

Not a single Jordanian has died in anti-Israel protests, and the Hashemite Kingdom’s security forces have remained loyal to King Abdullah II.

Aaron Magid

Singaporean Air Force's F-15SG fighter jet and Apache helicopter perform during a preview of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore on Feb. 18, 2024.

Additional US F-15 fighter jets arrive in Jordan as Israel anticipates Iran attack

The Biden administration seeks to dissuade Iran from launching yet another retaliatory attack against Israel amid a drawn-out exchange of strikes that risk escalating into a wider conflict.

JOHN WESSELS/AFP via Getty Images

Gulf governments silent as Iran, proxies mourn Hamas' Yahya Sinwar

Regional governments have not commented on Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar’s killing by Israeli forces in Gaza, but Iran and its proxy groups mourned his death, vowing that the resistance against Israel will continue.

MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images

Iran’s FM Araghchi mobilizes against Israel in visits to Jordan, Egypt, Turkey

Iran’s foreign minister has paid visits to several countries in the region in the past weeks, with the latest stop taking him to Jordan, amid Israel’s expected retaliation for Iran's missile attack.

Latest News

Jordan's Islamist party gains in parliamentary elections

An elderly Jordanian woman votes in parliamentary elections at a polling station at the al-Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp near the capital Amman on September 10, 2024.

Analysis

First in 30 years: How Allenby Bridge attack could upend Jordan-Israel ties

A car drives past a road signal indicating the Allenby (King Hussein) Bridge crossing point to Jordan (background), Jericho, West Bank, Jan. 28, 2021.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Jordan sounds alarm over Israeli incursion into West Bank

An Israeli army bulldozer digs up a road in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem with a Palestinian flag fluttering in the foreground on the second day of a large-scale military operation in the north of the occupied West Bank on August 29, 2024. The death toll climbed on August 29 as the Israeli army said it killed five militants in Tulkarem, bringing to 14 the overall number of people killed since the launch of the West Bank operation the previous day. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR A

Israel's vegetable prices soar as Turkey, Jordan ties strain: What we know

A man checks apples at a market in Ashkelon on Jan. 8, 2024, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the nearby Gaza Strip.

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Hanna Davis

In Beirut, reporting on politics, migration, human rights

Lyse Mauvais

In Amman, reporting on humanitarian crises

KHALIL MAZRAAWI/afp/AFP via Getty Images

Israel arrests Jordanian MP accused of smuggling weapons to West Bank

Jordanian parliamentarian Imad al-Adwan was arrested by Israeli police at the Alenby Bridge crossing point on Saturday on suspicion of smuggling weapons and gold into the West Bank, Jordanian news outlets reported.

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Abdullah II of Jordan on April, 19, 2023

Analysis

Jordan's king visits Saudi, UAE with Syria normalization topping agenda

Jordan’s King Abdullah II traveled to meet Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed this week as discussions about bringing Syria back to the Arab League continue.

By Salim A. Essaid

This picture shows a view of the Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees, near the Jordanian city of Mafraq.

Jordan proposes Syria peace plan during Arab FM Saudi meeting

The plan includes steps to tackle the refugee crisis and smuggling across borders.

Worshippers visit the tomb of the Virgin Mary in Jerusalem on March 19, 2023 following an attack by Israelis. - The Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem condemned the "heinous" attack that took place during Sunday mass at the Church of the Sepulchre of Saint Mary. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Jordan, Israel spar over access to Christian holy sites in Jerusalem

Israel blames Jordan for escalating tensions on Temple Mount, while Jordan accuses Israel of restricting Christians from Jerusalem's Holy Sepulcher Church.

Here are the biggest Middle East disclosures in the leaked intel docs

Turkey, Israel and the United Arab Emirates are among the Middle East countries named in a major leak of classified US intelligence documents.

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

2023 Mideast happiness rankings: UAE, Israel happiest as Lebanon hits bottom

The Middle East and North Africa region remains the least happy region after sub-Saharan Africa globally, but several regional nations have become happier in comparison to the previous period.

Vehicles drive in Amman on February 22, 2023. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Jordan economic rating shows upswing, but problems remain

Jordanians in the private sector are praising their government's ambitious economic strategies, but still see systemic inefficiencies as a barrier to making them a reality.

By Salim A. Essaid

Amphetamine

Saudi Arabia seizes 4.6 million amphetamine pills in bathroom shipment

A Jordanian national was apprehended in Jeddah while receiving the amphetamine shipment hidden in ceramic toilets, sinks and washbasins.

Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Freedom House

MidEast freedom rankings: Syria worst, Tunisia in decline, says Freedom House

Syria remains to be the least and Israel the best performing country when it comes civil and political freedoms while the biggest one-year decline has been observed in Tunisia.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Breaking | Last Updated: March 2, 2023, 2:44 pm

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin to visit Israel, Jordan, Egypt

The Pentagon chief's second tour of the Middle East comes as diplomatic efforts to return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal appear to have run out of gas.

Officers of the Directorate of Narcotics Control of the Interior Ministry sort through tablets of Captagon seized during a special operation and presented before AFP afterward, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 1, 2022.

UAE busts 4.5 million Captagon pills in food cans after smuggler arrest

Amphetamine fenethylline, known by its brand name Captagon, has increasingly become the drug of choice among youth in Gulf Arab states.

United Arab Emirates

Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attend the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit (SCIS) of the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 07, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain sign 12 industrial agreements worth $2 billion

The third Higher Committee Meeting of the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Development wrapped up in Amman with 12 new agreements on industrial projects.