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AMMAN — Twelve dunums of forest trees in the Dibbeen Forest Reserve were destroyed in a wildfire on Monday, the reserve’s director, Bashir Ayasrah, said on Tuesday.

The fire started at around 3:30pm and dozens of Jerash Civil Defence Department firefighters, Rangers from the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) and the Jerash Agriculture Department extinguished the blaze by 9pm, Ayasrah added.

“A report on the damages of the fire was completed today [Tuesday]. It shows that 184 trees were burned, of which 104 were Aleppo pines, 62 were oaks and 18 were maple trees. The trees are very old, as the average age of the reserve’s trees is 130 years,” he told The Jordan Times.

The Dibbeen Forest Reserve represents the world’s last remaining southeastern community of Aleppo pines.

The fire was most likely man-made, according to Ayasrah, who underscored that it is unknown whether the fire was a result of a visitor’s recklessness or an act of arson.

“Either way, it is too early to start witnessing fires in the forests because we are still in April and the season for wildfires usually starts in June,” the reserve director said.

Illegal logging during winter, fires during summer and insufficient rain due to climate change are the main threats to Jordan’s shrinking green cover, according to experts.

Situated in the northern Governorate of Jerash, the reserve was established in 2004 with the aim of protecting Aleppo pine trees, particularly as Dibbeen is the driest part of the world in which Aleppo pines naturally grow, with an average rainfall of around 400mm per year, according to the RSCN.

The Dibbeen forest is home to at least 17 threatened species, including the Persian squirrel, in addition to over a quarter of the butterfly species that exist in the Kingdom. It extends over 8.5 square kilometres of mountainous topography, rich with pine and oak trees.

AMMAN — A Jordanian businessman was arrested on Tuesday at his home in the capital’s Um Uthaina suburb over two financial cases worth JD54 million, a police official said.

“We received a court order to arrest the man, and a police force headed to his house and apprehended him without any major incident,” the official told The Jordan Times.

The official refused to reveal the nature of the cases, stressing that they “will handled by the concerned courts”.

The suspect was ordered detained at the Jweideh Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre pending further investigation.

AMMAN — The government on Tuesday said the decision to set JD156.4 million as the fee for renewing Orange Mobile's second generation (2G) licence was taken after objective studies, in response to the company's complaint over the “unreasonably high price”.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, ICT Minister Azzam Sleit said authorities set the renewal fees based on a consultancy study and a review of the revenues of operating the 2G frequencies in question.

The fact that the government, through the Social Security Corporation, owns 30 per cent of Orange Jordan's shares does not entitle it to special treatment in 2G licence pricing, Sleit added.

The government will pay around JD50 million of the licence fees as a shareholder, the minister noted, urging Orange executives to maintain accuracy when issuing statements on the matter to avoid misinterpretations that may harm the "vital" telecom sector, Petra reported.

Mohammad Taani, chief commissioner of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC), said the TRC set the price in accordance with the law and the actual value of the licence in the market at present.

"The licence fee is fair and was set in line with best international practices in this regard,” Taani said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

On Sunday, Orange Mobile criticised the TRC decision, noting that the commission sent a letter instructing it to pay a fee of JD156.4 million for the renewal and usage of its 12.5 MHz bandwidth in the 900 MHz spectrum by May 9. Orange Mobile’s licence ends May 8.

The telecom company said the decision would have “unbearable consequences” on its “capacity to invest in and develop its mobile and fixed networks, as well as its capacity to acquire 4G/LTE frequencies in the future”.

AMMAN — Jordan’s historic custodianship of Al Aqsa Mosque is facing renewed legal and political threats by Israeli attempts to assume control over the holy site, officials and religious leaders warned on Monday, calling for increased funds to preserve Arab and Islamic heritage in the city of Jerusalem.

At the opening of an international conference on Jerusalem, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah and attended by HRH Prince Ghazi on Monday, Jordanian and Palestinian officials warned that Amman’s historic role as guardian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem faces its greatest challenge in decades.

“Every day there is a new motion in the Israeli Knesset attempting to subvert Jordanian authority over Al Aqsa and place it under Israeli control,” Palestinian Minister for Jerusalem Affairs Adnan Husseini said in reference to a two-month Israeli parliamentary motion at the opening of the “Road to Jerusalem” conference in Amman on Monday. 

“There is a very clear strategy by the Israeli government and extremist Israeli groups to end the Jordanian and Palestinian role in Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque and place it entirely under their control.”

Palestinian officials warned that attempts to end Jordan’s legally recognised role as custodian of the holy site have been accelerated by renewed pressures of right-wing political movements, which have launched a series of protests and increased attempts to storm the holy site, which they claim as the location of the Temple Mount.

“Extremist groups and politicians are now forcing their way into Al Aqsa and Al Haram Al Sharif every day to claim the site as theirs and to create a prayer area within the mosque,” said Azzam Khatib, head of the Jerusalem Awqaf Department, which functions under Jordan’s Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. 

Palestinian officials called for an urgent “fund drive” among Arab and Islamic states in order to support local residents in Jerusalem and fund efforts to protect and safeguard Islamic holy sites in the occupied city.

“There are large budgets allocated by Israeli authorities to Judaise Jerusalem and alter its culture and heritage,” cautioned Mahmoud Al Habbash, Palestinian awqaf minister. 

During the international conference, which attracted senior clerics and ministers from across the Arab and Islamic worlds, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Hayel Dawood pledged Jordan’s ongoing commitment to preserving and protecting Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, a role enshrined in the country’s peace treaty with Israel and reinforced in a bilateral agreement with the Palestinian Authority sealed in March 2013.

“Our responsibility towards Al Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinian cause is deep... a core responsibility that has been carried by the Hashemite monarchy in its long history,” Dawood said.

Dawood called on Arab and Islamic states to step up political pressure on international institutions such as the UN and Western states to bring an end to alleged Israeli violations at Al Aqsa and other Islamic holy sites in the occupied territories.

Monday’s conference comes amid a recent flare-up of violence at the holy site and the arrest of dozens of Palestinian civilians as hard-line Israeli groups continue to storm the holy site in a bid to draw attention to their campaign to open the site to Jewish prayers and even annex what they claim as the foundation of the so-called Third Temple. 

Jordan has called for UN Security Council action to bring an end to various violations allegedly committed by Israeli authorities at the holy site, in violation of the peace treaty with Tel Aviv, along with various international laws and conventions.

Arab and Islamic scholars and politicians are expected to continue discussing the fate of Jerusalem and Al Aqsa Mosque during the three-day conference, sponsored by the Parliament’s Palestine Committee and the World Islamic Sciences and Education University.  

AMMAN — The Senate’s joint legal and media committee endorsed the draft amendments to the 2014 Jordan Press Association (JPA) law on Monday.

The decision came as Parliament’s ordinary session draws to a close after His Majesty King Abdullah issued a decree last week to prorogue Parliament as of May 3.Parliamentary sources told The Jordan Times, on condition of anonymity, that the Senate will not be able to conclude its discussions of the law before the end of its current session.

They said the bill might be included on the agenda of the upcoming extraordinary session, expected to take place next month.

AMMAN — Public Sector Development Minister Khleef Al Khawaldeh launched a series of four-day training workshops at the Institute of Public Administration on Monday, according to a ministry statement.

“The workshops are designed to train Jordanian public sector employees on participatory strategic planning and results oriented Government,” the statement said.

“These training workshops are focused on a new approach to strategic planning, one that is based on the participation of all stakeholders including lower- and middle-level management professionals,” Khawaldeh said.

AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben and US army officials on Monday discussed ways to boost coordination between the Jordan Armed Forces and its US counterpart.

During a meeting attended by HRH Prince Feisal, US Assistant Secretary of Defence for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defence Programmes Andrew C. Weber, and director of the US Defence Threat Reduction Agency Kenneth A. Myers, discussions covered preparations for this year’s Eager Lion military drill.

 More than 24 countries are scheduled to participate in the exercise, taking place in Jordan for the fourth successive year.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces, on Monday attended a military exercise conducted by a unit in the northern military zone.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben received the King, who was briefed on the phases, procedures and importance of the drill, which included the use of live ammunition, the implementation of basic infantry procedures and mock rescue operations in residential buildings.

King Abdullah praised the excellent level that JAF personnel have reached.

AMMAN — Khaled Abu Rabi, acting chairman of the Development Zones Commission’s (DZC) board, on Monday said the DZC has approved a $50 million Qatari medical tourism project to be implemented in the Dead Sea Development Zone.

Abu Rabi added that the Qatari project will consist of a tourist resort and a medical centre, and is expected to create 400 jobs when it is ready.

AMMAN — Jordan is grateful for Japan’s support and aid, which help implement a number of development and service projects, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told a Japanese parliamentary delegation on Monday.

Ensour said refugees add further pressure on Jordan’s limited resources, stressing that guarding the shared border with Syria is extremely costly.

Highlighting developments in the Middle East peace process, the premier said Japan, as a neutral country with a strong international presence, can help bring the peace talks to a fruitful conclusion and reach a just solution to the Palestinian issue.

The Japanese lawmakers commended Jordan’s hosting of Syrian refugees, thanking the Kingdom for its support when Japan was affected by a devastating earthquake.

Also Monday, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met with the Japanese delegates and discussed the latest regional developments and ways to enhance bilateral ties.