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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah said Monday that Jordanian-Israeli ties will be affected if the ongoing Israeli provocations at Al Aqsa Mosque continue.

During a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, His Majesty said: “... I would like to state, in your presence that if this continues to happen, actually as of today, any more provocations in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel; and Jordan will have no choice, but to take action, unfortunately.”

Following are the remarks by His Majesty and Cameron:

His Majesty King Abdullah:

Prime Minister, if you would allow me, I’m delighted to have you back here in Jordan, as a dear friend to me and to this country.

The relationship between Jordan and Britain has been a long and historic one; and even more so over the past several years, as we have come closer, shoulder-to-shoulder, with not only the regional challenges we have had to face, but unfortunately the global challenges that have been a major problem for all of us as we have been having to fight this global threat of terror, what we in the Islamic world call khawarej, the outlaws or renegades of Islam. You and I have discussed this before that this is a global fight that brings all religions together.

Jordanian and British troops have been standing shoulder-to-shoulder in many regions and, again, we will continue to do so. I know this is the sort of discussions I look forward to having here with you.

Equally as important, you are here to look at the issue of refugees. We commend the role that your government and your country has played in this respect; and commend the role that Europe has been playing in opening its borders and its hearts to the haunting images that we have seen of migrants trying to get to Europe.

As you know, Jordan has had this burden of refugees for some time now. One fifth of our population, over 20 per cent, are Syrian refugees. Only 15 per cent of which are in the refugee camp, which you visited today.

We are very thankful for the role your government has played in supporting Jordan with the refugee issues; but again, I think that the role Jordan has played has been a role that has lessened the burden on Europe. We hope, obviously, that the international community will be able to deal with the terrible humanitarian crisis.

I know that England has always been there to help Jordan and to find a solution to the Syrian problem. Again, we’ll have a chance to discuss these issues.

I look forward to the discussions we are going to have this afternoon. In your presence, if I can just say one last issue that we in Jordan have been very concerned and angered with the recent escalations in Jerusalem, specifically in Al Aqsa Mosque. 

We have gotten reassurances from the Israeli government that this would not happen. Unfortunately, these are reassurances we have heard in the past.

So, I would like to state, in your presence that if this continues to happen, actually as of today, any more provocations in Jerusalem will affect the relationship between Jordan and Israel; and Jordan will have no choice, but to take action, unfortunately.

But having said that welcome back to this country, you are a great friend of Jordan and we thank you and the British people for the wonderful relationship. 

I look forward to discussions we will have this afternoon.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron:

Well, thank you very much Your Majesty for that welcome and it is a great honour for me to be back in Jordan with Your Majesty.

The first thing I want to do is to thank the Jordanian people, through you, for the extraordinary generosity they have shown hosting so many Syrian refugees. I have seen this with my own eyes this afternoon, here in your country.

As you say, Britain and Jordan have a very strong relationship. I think it has gotten stronger over recent years, and we want to build on that.

First of all, on the issue of Syria, Britain is the second largest contributor to the Syrian refugee crisis, after the United States of America. We are proud of that. We will continue with that investment. 

We hope other countries will do more because it is so important to help keep people close to their homes, to clothe, and feed and house them close to their homes, so they don’t make that perilous journey across the seas, which has led to such appalling losses of life; but, of course, in Britain we will be taking 20,000 Syrian refugees straight out of refugee camps here in Jordan and elsewhere and give them a home in our country.

I absolutely agree with Your Majesty that we need to continue to face up to the global threat of terrorism, which we see in such evidence with ISIL, with Daesh, in Syria and the threat they pose to the whole region and in Iraq, of course, as well.

I also hope that we will also be able to discuss, as you have said, the situation with regards to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. I had a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu about this issue last week, and he said that he was ready to talk to the Palestinian leader without preconditions. We very much want to do everything we can to encourage that process.

We also continue to work with you on defence. I am very proud of the work of our armed forces are doing in collaboration, in cooperation, with yours... and the economic cooperation we have to help strengthen the Jordanian economy — all these issues. So the very close relationship between our countries, which we can discuss today. 

Thank you.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday stressed Jordan's interest in strengthening its cooperation with Albania in various fields. 

During a meeting with Albania's Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati, the King underlined the importance of building on the outcome of his visit to Tirana in May this year and his discussions with Albania's President Bujar Nishani and senior Albanian officials, in a manner that strengthens relations between the two countries. 

The two sides stressed the need to expand bilateral cooperation and to benefit from the opportunities available in the two countries to boost economic cooperation and trade exchange, especially in light of the various incentives that Jordan offers to businessmen and the country's distinguished geographic location. 

At the regional level, the two sides discussed ways to deal with the crises that some countries are going through, especially the crisis in Syria and the situation in Iraq and Libya, calling for political and comprehensive solutions that guarantee peace and stability in the region. 

At the meeting, the two sides reviewed efforts exerted to confront terrorism and radicalism, asserting the need for dealing with this danger in accordance with a comprehensive joint strategy. 

Bushati, who conveyed greetings from Albania’s President Bujar Nishani to the King, stressed his country’s commitment to boosting its relations and maintaining coordination and consultations with Jordan regarding various issues.

He expressed Albania’s appreciation of the role of His Majesty in strengthening the Jordanian-Albanian relations, and commended the King’s prudence in dealing with various regional and global issues.

Also on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met with his visiting Albanian counterpart and discussed ways to boost cooperation between the two countries. 

Judeh and Bushati underscored the importance of developing cooperation in economic, tourist and cultural areas, especially many Islamic and Christian religious sites are in Jordan.  

Moreover, Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh met with Bushati and stressed the Kingdom’s commitment to boosting its cooperation with Albania, especially in parliamentary fields.

AMMAN — Jordan will observe a five-day public holiday starting September 23, in observance of Eid Al Adha, or feast of sacrifice, according to a circular by the Prime Ministry.

All ministries and government departments will be closed as of Wednesday morning until Sunday evening, the announcement said.

On Sunday, Saudi authorities announced that Eid Al Adha, which celebrates the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca, will start Thursday.

Religious authorities in the Muslim world rely on sighting the new moon to determine the Islamic calendar and the beginning of lunar months.

Eid Al Adha is one of two major Islamic feasts, with the other being Eid Al Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. 

The feast of the sacrifice marks the end of the pilgrimage season, when Muslims of sufficient means are required to sacrifice livestock in remembrance of Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail to God. 

Jordanian pilgrims’ caravans have started the journey of faith to Mecca and they customarily stay a few days in Medina, where Prophet Mohammad is buried.

The Hajj proper starts one day ahead of the Eid, where millions of the faithful from around the world ascend Arafat Mount, as the key ritual in the annual pilgrimage. 

AMMAN — The government has adopted “major and real” procedures to support the tourism sector to enable it to overcome challenges it faces, mainly as a result of the regional situation, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Monday.

At a meeting with president and members of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents to discuss the sector’s concerns and challenges, Ensour said that dealing with tourists and supporting tourism is a “totally patriotic duty”.

The premier highlighted the need for Jordanians to collaborate to ensure the comfort and safety of guests visiting the country, stressing the importance of raising people’s awareness of safeguarding tourists against any wrong practices, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

“It is not right for the government to take measures to attract tourists, while we are not ready to receive them,” he said, urging citizens, taxi drivers, restaurant owners and all other stakeholders to show genuine hospitality as they receive tourists and to ensure that nobody takes advantage of the country’s guests.

The prime minister also called for marking a day for  Jordanian tourism at schools, colleges and universities that includes awareness activities on how to receive tourists and give a good impression about the Kingdom, Petra added.

Ensour noted that Jordan’s religious sites attract visitors from around the world, referring to the oldest churches in the world, sites visited by Jesus Christ, Mary and John the Baptist, foremost of which is the Baptism Site, which has recently been named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Replying to remarks by a travel agent on the selling and illegal uses of Hajj and umra visas, Ensour said he would investigate the matter and would not allow the Hajj and umra tourism sector, or any other sector, to be plagued by corruption or mismanagement.

Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez said that despite the drop in tourist numbers to the Kingdom, due to the regional turmoil, Jordan has been able to convey a message to the world that it has a normal life and enjoys security and stability. 

Official figures showed that tourism revenues in the first 11 months of 2014 stood at JD2.891 billion, compared with JD2.715 billion for the same period in 2013, despite the drop in the number of tourists visiting archaeological sites in 2014.

Fayez stressed that Petra is the focus of a tourism promotion, underlining the city’s need for important projects that cost some JD35 million, which is not available.

Shaher Hamdan, president of the society, noted that his organisation comprises around 700 travel agents specialised in inbound, religious, internal, Hajj and umra tourism sectors.

Hamdan called for halting licensing of new travel and tourism agencies until the sector’s market stabilises in light of the presence of a ”large” number of tourism offices, according to Petra. 

Head of the Lower House’s Reform bloc Deputy Mijhem Sqour said the House discussed the draft tourism law and arrived at points of agreement that would ensure support for the society and help the tourism sector increase its contribution to the national economy.

AMMAN — Customs personnel in Aqaba on Monday foiled an attempt to smuggle fireworks into the country in a shipping container, a Jordan Customs Department (JCD) official said.

The importer had presented documents claiming the container was carrying medical equipment, the official told The Jordan Times.

“Our agents, in coordination with other security agencies, responded to a tip that fireworks were to be smuggled into the Kingdom in a container coming from an Asian country,” the official added.

The official added that agents and security officers waited for the shipment and searched it the minute it arrived in port.

“We found 1,280 cartons inside the container that were filled with fireworks,” the official explained.

Customs agents seized the shipment, which was intended for transport to a merchant in Amman in violation of the law, according to the JCD official.

The case was referred to the customs department prosecutor for legal action, according to a statement from the JCD.

The fines were estimated at JD53,000, according to the official.

“If the fines are paid then the fireworks will be sent back to the country of origin. It all depends on the court’s ruling,” the official said.

“In the event that the fines are not paid, the official added, the fireworks “will be destroyed in Jordan”.

The import of fireworks into the Kingdom is considered dangerous to society and public safety, the JCD statement stated.

In 2009, the government banned the import of fireworks, excluding those imported for public agencies.

AMMAN — Although Jordan’s ranking in budget transparency is “moderately higher” than the global average, the availability of budget information to the public is still “limited”, according to a recent international report.

The Open Budget Survey 2015, carried out by the International Budget Partnership, evaluated 102 countries concerning budget transparency, public participation and independent oversight. 

The survey uses 109 indicators to measure budget transparency, whether the government makes eight key budget documents available to the public in a timely manner and whether the data in these documents are comprehensive and useful.

On a scale of 100, Jordan scored 55 in budget transparency, with limited budget information provided to the public, 10 points ahead of the global overage of 45. However, the Kingdom did not make any progress in producing a mid-year review. 

Furthermore, the Kingdom scored 27 in public participation, with “weak” opportunities for the public to engage in the budget process.

Regarding budget oversight, Jordan scored 45 in budget oversight by legislature and 42 in budget oversight by a supreme audit institution, both categorised as “limited” oversight.

The Kingdom ranked as the top budget transparent Arab country, followed by Morocco (rank 38), Yemen (rank 34) and Algeria (rank 19).

Top budget transparent countries were New Zealand, Sweden and South Africa, scoring 88, 87 and 86 respectively, while Iraq, Lebanon and Myanmar were at the bottom of the list.

In the 2012 survey, Jordan scored 57 due to its production of a mid-year review for internal use.

Recommendations

The report recommends that the government produce and publish a mid-year review, in addition to providing further details on macroeconomic forecasts and issues beyond the core budget.

In order to enhance public participation, the report highlighted the need to establish “credible and effective” mechanisms to enhance public participation, including public hearings, surveys and focus groups.

Furthermore, it calls for ensuring the consultation of legislature both in law and practice prior to the spending of contingency funds that were not included in the enacted budget.

The International Budget Partnership (IBP) was formed in 1997 to collaborate with civil society organisations in developing countries to analyse, monitor and influence government budget processes, institutions and outcomes.

The aim of the partnership is to make budget systems more responsive to the needs of the poor and low-income people in society and to make these systems more transparent and accountable to the public.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani, who is also government spokesperson, on Monday urged official spokespersons to be open to the media and use the official media outlets to communicate their ministries’ and departments’ messages.

Momani made his remarks during a meeting with media spokespersons, attended by Jordan News Agency, Petra, Director General Faisal Shboul and Jordan Radio and Television Corporation Director General Mohammad Tarawneh, Petra reported.

Momani said he contacts spokespersons on daily to follow up on issues related to their institutions and ministries, urging them to prepare reports on their achievements, refer them to their seniors and supply him with copies to check on the most significant issues being dealt with.

The minister said the government would continuously communicate with spokespersons and there would be regular meetings held with them.

Momani also asked the spokespeople to share with his office suggestions and opinions on ways to activate the performance of their ministries and institutions in the media and communications field. The suggestions will help draw up a proper plan to be implemented in coordination with stakeholders, he said.

Moreover, he urged spokespersons to be well-rounded on all domestic issues  so as to be able to provide accurate and clear answers when necessary.

The minister called on the spokespeople to continuously communicate with official media outlets, to communicate any information they need through them or to use the minister’s office in this regard.

Commenting on recent local developments, Momani underlined the intensified Royal efforts to serve Jordan’s interests, citing in particular His Majesty King Abdullah's recent visit to China, which “highlighted several messages” including Jordan’s status on the international arena.

Momani outlined the government’s position on external and internal issues, including the reform-oriented laws on elections, political parties, decentralisation and municipalities. He highlighted the advantages of each law for the Kingdom's politics and Jordanian's participation in the political process as well as marginalised society segments.

Momani said he would be holding regular meetings with spokespeople and representatives of media outlets to speak about developments and recent issues.

AMMAN —The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission is in talks with operators to reach a solution to enable mobile number portability (MNP), according to Ghazi Jbour, TRC’s chief commissioner.

Operators have reservations about MNP, which enables mobile telephone users to retain their numbers when changing from one mobile network operator to another, said Jbour at a press conference recently.

“We are holding discussions with every operator to reach a consensus on this issue,” he said, adding that the issue has been debated for a very long time and to reach a solution for it, all need to collaborate.

“This issue has not been solved since 2006; we hope we will reach a solution to enable users to use the MNP service. We are very serious in this regard,” he said, adding that a meeting of officials from Zain Jordan, Orange Jordan and Umniah is scheduled for the upcoming period to find a suitable solution.

The experience of other countries in implementing MNP will be taken into account, he added.

MNP is one of many issues the TRC will be working on with the operators to address, as mobile users are calling for speedier measures to enable MNP, said the commissioner.

“Users should have the option to change to any operator but keep their numbers,” Bassam Hajj Abed, a salesman, told The Jordan Times on Monday, adding that dissatisfaction with the services of an operator gives a user the legitimate right to change it, but not necessarily the telephone number that a user may have had for a long time and does not wish to change.

Roqayya Sharif, a housewife, agrees.

“My number is one of my possessions. I should be able to have it regardless of the network I am using. I think telecom companies do not like the idea because they will lose some of their subscribers,” Sharif said on Monday.

Mobile penetration reached 147 per cent at the end of March, with 11.5 million active mobile subscriptions, 10.6 million of them prepaid, according to TRC figures.

Of the total mobile phones in Jordan, around 70 per cent are smartphones, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

AMMAN — Instead of spending thousands of dinars on a wedding party that lasts a few hours, a Jordanian couple decided to start married life with an investment in the happiness of others.

Khaled Rushaidat and Rania Hindieh donated what they could have paid for a wedding party to the Goodwill Fund of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) in the name of their invitees.

“We will still hold a dinner this Friday for close family members and friends, where Rania will wear a white gown and I will wear a suit,” Rushaidat told The Jordan Times Sunday over the phone.

The groom, who preferred not to mention the amount of the donation, said his family and friends were excited when they first heard the news; the happiness only grew greater when the fiancée expressed support for the idea.

“We could either pay thousands for a four-hour wedding where we invite 300-500 people, who would enjoy it momentarily and move on with their lives once the party was over, or contribute to the treatment of a cancer patient,” said Rusheidat, clearly showing the road taken.

“I truly believe that God will bless our marriage because we wanted to start our life together by making others happy as well,” said Rushaidat, who works as the manager of the local development department at KHCF. 

It is an initiative that seems to resonate with others as well. The sister of a groom’s friend said she will make a similar contribution on the occasion of her wedding next year.

“Many people offered to throw us a wedding party or give us a honeymoon trip. We asked them to donate the money to the Goodwill Fund on our behalf,” said Rushaidat, adding that the move is for philanthropic reasons, not out of the inability to pay the wedding expenses.

On her Facebook page, Princess Dina Mired, director general of the KHCF, announced and commended the couple’s move.

“What a fantastic way to start married life with the ultimate gift; that of the gift of BLESSING and GIVING,” she posted recently, wishing the newlyweds a new life together filled with blessings, hope and love.

AMMAN — The Jordan Teachers Association reported on Monday that a student’s father allegedly pointed a gun, that was in his possession, in front of teachers in Muwaqqar, east of Amman, and tried to beat up one of them.

The association said the parent barged into a boys’ primary school after the principal sent his son home for not wearing the uniform.

The father accused a teacher of beating up his son, a charge that the teachers denied. Classes in the school were suspended on Monday and the teachers decided to stage a sit-in in front of Muwaqqar’s  Education Directorate on Tuesday.

Since the beginning of this month, the number of assaults against teachers has risen to 14, according to the teachers’ syndicate.