SALT, Jordan – After a state hospital here had oxygen last month and nine Covid-19 patients died, the country’s monarch, King Abdullah II, paid a short visit to this small farm town. Dressed in a military uniform, he complained to local officials in front of TV cameras.
Earlier, an angry crowd slapped their fists and shoes on a vehicle with a court official and forced it to accelerate.
The next day, Salt hosted a very different royal visit from the king’s half-brother, Prince Hamzah bin Hussein. The prince, a critic of the king and his government, summoned the houses of the deceased and sat and talked with their families. Two weeks later, he was invited to return for a traditional festival with residents.
According to the people on both sides, the duel visits, as Jordan struggled to contain the pandemic and rectify a splash economy, were one of the last straws in a long rivalry between the king and his younger half-sister. the rift, in a nation that is a major American ally.
Within days, Prince Hamzah was effectively placed under house arrest and accused by the government of undermining national security, a move that has boosted politics in the desert empire between Israel and the occupied West Bank, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria. He has not been seen in public since. The palace says the prince stays at home “in the care of the king”.