AMMAN, Jordan – King Abdullah II of Jordan broke his silence on Wednesday night over the extraordinary public feud with his half-brother, Prince Hamzah, and justified the steps he took to curb his brother’s contact with the outside world, claiming that the prince’s “riot was quenched in the germ.”
In an open letter addressed to the Jordanian people read by a newspaper on television, King Abdullah wrote that Prince Hamzah had committed himself to “putting Jordan’s interests, constitution and laws above all considerations ‘, according to’ an official translation of the released letter. at the royal palace.
The king added: “Hamza is under his care in his palace in his palace today.” The prince claimed he was under house arrest. He has not been seen in public since the breakup became known this past weekend.
The Jordanian government on Sunday accused Prince Hamzah, a former crown prince, of plotting to undermine the country’s security. Several assistants and associates of the prince were arrested and the prince himself was ordered not to comment or communicate with people outside the royal family.
The news shocked Jordanians and foreign allies. Jordan has historically been a mainstay in the turbulent Middle East, and the ruling family has rarely expressed its disputes in public.
The head of the European Union’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, visited King Abdullah on Wednesday in sharp evidence of support for the monarch. President Biden later called the king to offer “full solidarity with Jordan, under the leadership of his majesty”, according to a statement published by a state-run news agency in Jordan.
King Abdullah’s letter is the first time the monarch himself has commented on the rift.
Prince Hamzah had earlier circulated two videos about the situation, denying he was involved in a conspiracy, but indignant with the Jordanian government, saying he had been placed under house arrest.
Jordan, which is being squeezed between Syria, Iraq, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is considered by Western powers such as the United States to be a key ally in international military efforts to curb extremist groups such as the Islamic State. And with a significant population of Palestinian origin, Jordan is considered a key player in any future Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.
In his statement on Wednesday, the king spoke of his personal discomfort over his disagreement with Prince Hamzah.
“The challenge of the last few days has not been the most difficult or dangerous for the stability of our country,” he wrote, “but for me it was the most painful.”
He added: “Sedition comes from inside and outside our one house, and nothing can compare with my shock, pain and anger as a brother and as head of the Hashemite family and as leader of this proud people.”
Although it was painful to do so, the king said he felt compelled to take action. “Nothing, and no one, jeopardizes Jordan’s safety and stability,” he wrote, “and it was necessary to take the necessary measures to fulfill that responsibility.”
The king’s letter follows a separate statement issued by the royal court on Monday, with the signature of Prince Hamzah, quoting the prince as confirming his loyalty to his half-brother. But the exact location of the prince has been a mystery since Saturday. Apart from the two videos, he made no direct comments to the public.
The prince’s staff and associates remain in jail pending an investigation into their activities, a fact the king referred to in his letter Wednesday.
“As for the other aspects,” he wrote, “it is being investigated by law.” He promised that the inquiry would be conducted “in a manner that guarantees fairness and transparency.”
The split of Prince Hamzah with the king is due in part to the prince’s repeated criticism of the way the country is run, especially due to the lack of transparency. Freedom House, an independent U.S. watchdog that monitors law violations around the world, recently said that Jordan is no longer a free society because it previously classified it as “partially free.”
Hamzah was removed as crown prince by the king in 2004, and initially remained silent about his frustration over the downgrade. But over the past few years, he has sought to establish a profile as a standard bearer for public discontent, and trace on social media about high-level transplantation.
He also met regularly with tribal leaders, a move that some saw as an attempt to undermine the king. Although the influence of the tribe has diminished in recent decades, the legitimacy of the Jordanian monarchy was partly rooted in the support it received from Jordanian families.