After Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994, there’s been a fragile but sustained calm in this region. But following the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, and an increase in settler violence against the Palestinians in the West Bank, relations between Jordan and Israel have soured.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East to press the Israelis, Palestinians and regional players to build on last week's Gaza cease-fire by laying the groundwork for an eventual resumption in long-stalled peace talks.
A rare but tense rift within Jordan’s royal family is playing out in public. But for one Jordanian who spoke to The World, it's the economy that should be the focus.
Top of The World: Jordan's Prince Hamzah has vowed to continue communicating with the outside world in defiance of orders from his half brother, King Abdullah II, and the government. And, India reported the country’s biggest single-day spike in confirmed coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic. Also, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in court on Monday facing charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust.
The “superbug” bacteria often strike at much higher rates in the Middle East, according to Doctors Without Borders. The bacteria attack invisibly and without warning in the mangled limbs, bullet holes and other wounds of civilians and fighters in war zones.
Recruitment agency ads perpetuate slavery-like conditions in Jordan by posting biodata of migrants seeking domestic work, revealing skin complexion, weight, height, and "price" according to country of origin. Many end up trapped in situations of abuse and exploitation.
Abandoned refugees at the Rukban settlement on the Syrian-Jordanian border are desperate for aid, but a geopolitical standoff has made it nearly impossible — and conditions are only getting worse.
The abuse reportedly happened inside the country and also during a training camp held in February of last year in Jordan. Players flew out, and two male representatives of the Afghanistan Football Federation came with them. Khalida Popal, former captain of Afghanistan's national soccer team, had organized the training session in Jordan and had reservations about the men.
The Syrian army has tightened its siege of the camp, in Rukban, near the northeastern Jordanian border with Syria and Iraq, preventing smugglers and traders from delivering food to its 50,000 inhabitants, mostly women and children.
Washington's move against UNRWA was the latest in a series of US and Israeli policy decisions that have angered Palestinians and raised international concern.
The 10.5 tons of mail had been held in Jordan since 2010 because Israel would not permit direct transfer to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Palestinian officials said.