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AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Monday held a lunch at Basman Palace to honour supporters of the Madrasati initiative, which has enhanced the learning environment in 500 public schools across Jordan. 

The lunch was held in recognition of all those who supported and partnered with the Madrasati initiative to ensure schoolchildren receive quality education in environments fertile for creativity and excellence, according to a statement from Her Majesty’s office. 

It included several officials and CEOs of private sector companies who supported the five-phase initiative as well as directors of various civil society institutions.

Queen Rania thanked all contributors and supporters for their efforts and for believing in the success of Madrasati and its importance. 

Her Majesty referred to the initiative’s achievements as the greatest indicators of how accomplishments can be solidified through working together.

“You have built more than just fences and ceilings. You have built bridges of trust, loyalty and love,” Queen Rania told the supporters.

During the lunch, which was also attended by a number of ministers, Madrasati Director Tala Sweis showcased the accomplishments of the initiative, which has benefited 135,000 students, 9,000 teachers and 500 schools, the statement said. 

A film of testimonials from schools that benefited from Madrasati was screened at the event, highlighting the significant impact the initiative had on improving education, school infrastructure and student behaviour. 

In addition, it had a positive impact by boosting the morale of students, teachers and principals, according to the statement.

Queen Rania launched Madrasati in April 2008 with the aim of improving infrastructure through programmes that develop the educational environment in 500 public schools in dire need of aid. 

Through its five-phase framework, Madrasati has brought together different stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, as well as young volunteers and local communities.

AMMAN — The Israeli occupation is obstructing progress of the Kingdom's 13 maintenance projects at Al Aqsa Mosque complex, according to Awqaf Minister Hayel Dawood.

"The Kingdom's custodianship of holy sites in Jerusalem stands in the way of Israeli violations on the holy shrines," he said on Sunday, describing the role assigned to Jordan as "a hard one".

During a seminar on Jordan's custodianship of Jerusalem's Muslim and Christian sites at the Royal Cultural Centre, Dawood added that the Kingdom's responsibility towards the holy city dates back to the unification of Jordan and the West Bank in 1950. 

"When the unification was dissolved in 1988, there was an agreement on sustaining Jordan's legal, administrative and religious sovereignty over holy sites in Jerusalem, but political sovereignty remained in the hands of the occupation forces," he said.

Ekrima Sabri, former grand mufti of Jerusalem and imam of Al Aqsa Mosque, highlighted Jordan's "strong stances and continuous support" for holy sites in Jerusalem in spite of little Arab and Islamic attention.

"Israeli parties and groups are taking advantage of the fact that Arab and Muslim states are busy with their internal affairs, adding to that the division among Palestinians," he said at the event, which was organised by the Jerusalem Cultural Forum.

The "almost daily" attacks on Al Aqsa are organised by the Israeli government and the assailants are protected by occupation forces, Sabri said.

"A few days ago, a decision was issued allowing Jews to pray in Al Aqsa courtyards, which are part of the mosque," he said, adding that such acts aim to create a designated area for Jews in Al Haram Al Sharif, known to Jews as the Temple Mount. 

At present, Muslim worshippers are only allowed entry to Islam's third holiest site at certain times.

Jerusalem Forum Director Ishaq Farhan said the recent Israeli attempts to remove Jordan's custodianship of Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem were designed to end Islamic sovereignty over Al Aqsa.

"Occupation forces regularly arrest Palestinians and fire live bullets and teargas bombs inside Al Aqsa," he said, adding that mosque guards cannot confront these attacks.

Ziyad Hasan, a researcher specialised in Jerusalem issues, noted that UN Security Council Resolution 252 supports Jordan's stance in rejecting Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem. 

Also, Security Council Resolution 271 called upon Israel to "refrain from causing any hindrance to the discharge of the established functions of the Supreme Muslim Council of Jerusalem", he said.

In March 2013, His Majesty King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed an agreement that reaffirmed the status of King Abdullah as the custodian of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

AMMAN — Save the Children Jordan (SCJ), UNICEF and the Water Ministry on Sunday celebrated World Water Day at the Zaatari Refugee Camp with 1,327 students.

The event aimed at promoting hygiene and water conservation, through the Water, Sanitisation and Hygiene (WASH) departments, according to a SCJ statement.

It included awareness sessions advocating for the sustainable management of scarce water resources, as well as education on proper hand-washing with soap to prevent diseases and infections. 

“At the conclusion of the event, every child offered a pledge to conserve water by signing their name on a small water droplet, that eventually formed a magnificent water droplet, with the slogan “Save me, don’t waste me,’” the statement said.  

SCJ CEO Manal Wazani emphasised the importance of this initiative.

“Our goals revolve around raising awareness on the optimal usages for the available water resources, to prevent the spread and transmission of illnesses of children, like pneumonia, diarrhoea,” the statement quoted Wazani as saying.

AMMAN — Jordan is coordinating with international aid agencies to incorporate water and sanitation among the post-2015 development goals, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said on Monday.

“If the Arab region, which suffers from water scarcity, doesn’t push for incorporating water and sanitation as one of the post-2015 millennium development goals, then none of the water-rich countries will do so,” Nasser said in a ceremony marking World Water Day.

The UN is working with governments, civil society and other partners to build on the momentum generated by the MDGs and carry on with an ambitious post-2015 development agenda, according to its website.

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is one of eight MDGs to be met by all the world’s countries by 2015. The other goals are: reducing child mortality, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, improving maternal health, combating diseases such as HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability and creating global partnerships for development.

The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration adopted during the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000.

“Water supply tops Jordan’s priorities because the water sector is facing major challenges in light of global warming and the resulting decrease in rainfall. Water resources are being depleted and there is unprecedented demand on our already shrinking water resources,” the minister said in a speech he delivered on behalf of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour.

Underscoring that the Arab region’s share of freshwater constitutes 1 per cent of the world’s freshwater resources, Nasser added that the current water deficit in the region stands at 45 billion cubic metres and is expected to surge to 127 billion cubic metres by 2030, when precipitation will drop by 20 per cent due to climate change.

“UN studies indicate that water prices in the Arab region will be 11 times higher than water prices in the rest of the world by 2030… our region will need over $2 billion in capital cost for water and sanitation projects during the next decade, which is a huge financial burden even for fiscally capable countries, such as the Gulf states,” he pointed out.

Celebrated annually on March 22, World Water Day’s theme for this year is water and energy. Its objectives include raising awareness of the inter-linkages between water and energy and demonstrating, through case studies, that integrated approaches and solutions to water energy issues can achieve greater economic and social impacts.

AMMAN — Oxfam has launched a new series of workshops on the occasion of World Water Day (WWD) to raise awareness among Syrian refugees living in Jordan, as well as vulnerable Jordanians in host communities, on the importance of water conservation.

In the first event on Sunday, more than 250 Syrians and Jordanians who live in Zarqa met with local environmental experts to discuss the reasons for the Kingdom’s water shortages and steps that can be taken to conserve water, according to an Oxfam statement. 

“Water is so precious here in Jordan where shortages are common each year and every drop counts. It is essential that Jordanians and Syrian refugees in rural and urban communities have access to adequate water and sanitation,” Oxfam Country Director in Jordan Geoffrey Poynter said. 

“The Syrian refugees here need help to better understand their new context, and the circumstances of their host country — especially given water shortages are something that directly affects their daily lives.”

The workshop also aimed to promote environment-friendly practices and encourage people not to waste water in order to help ease the pressure on local infrastructure.

Tips on how to save water included turning the taps off while users brush their teeth and wash their hands, taking fewer showers and using less water for laundry, the statement said.

Many of the Syrians come from towns and cities that had plentiful water supplies, but the situation in Jordan is different and several refugees are finding it hard to adapt to living in a new context with its own set of environmental issues, according to Oxfam.

“Back home in Syria, awareness campaigns to adopt water-rationing practices were almost nonexistent, while Jordan has been running a water awareness programme for its citizens for over 10 years now,” the statement quoted Hiba Abu Al Rob, Oxfam’s host communities’ public health engineers team leader, as saying.

“There is no room for waste — but life here is so different to the way it was in Syria so it takes time to get that message across.”

Professor Alsharifa Hind Mohammad from the University of Jordan spoke about the Kingdom’s severe water shortage owing to the lack of surface water resources and the meagre annual rainfall. 

She said the fact that Jordan has been a destination for many displaced families from neighbouring countries since 1948 has also put its water resources under almost continuous pressure. 

Children are also being taught about the importance of water and ways to conserve it, and an interactive story-telling session for refugee children was held as part of the workshop, the statement said.

Oxfam is currently operating in Jordan to extend humanitarian aid to people who most need it, as part of its response to the Syria crisis.

Oxfam has been delivering WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) programmes since 2012 in the Zaatari Refugee Camp, as well as in host communities across the Kingdom, including Balqa, Zarqa, the Jordan Valley and Amman.

According to UNHCR, there are 51,757 Syrian refugees in Zarqa, making it the fourth largest refugee population in Jordan after Irbid (135,417), Amman (151,294) and Mafraq (174,847 refugees). 

AMMAN — An amendment to the Residency and Foreigner Affairs Law will see registration numbers assigned to foreigners coming to Jordan for work and study purposes, a senior government official said on Sunday.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani said the Council of Ministers on Sunday endorsed major amendments to the law and sent it to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau at the Prime Ministry. 

Amendments to the 1973 law seek to regulate the entry and exit to the Kingdom, according to Momani.

Momani, who is also the government spokesperson, told reporters at a press conference that under the new version of the law, which is yet to be endorsed by Parliament, all foreigners coming to Jordan for work and study purposes will be issued  “personal numbers”, to be used for follow-up with any issue concerning their stay.

The new rules do not apply to tourists. 

In addition, landlords and hoteliers should report, within 48 hours, to the Ministry of Interior or police when they rent their property to or host non-Jordanians.

As for those foreigners who are requested by authorities to leave the country for a specific reason, they are not allowed to come back before six months unless they obtain a permission from the Ministry of Interior, as the amendments stipulate.

The fine for violating regulations of residency — and exceeding the residency permit — is increased from JD1.5 to JD3 per day.

The total number of legal guest workers from various countries is estimated around 900,000 out of two million foreigners of working age living in the Kingdom, according to recent figures issued by the Ministry of Labour. 

GAZA — Jordan’s field hospital in Gaza, dubbed “Gaza 28”, on Sunday distributed assistance to underprivileged families in the Gaza Strip, in cooperation with charity societies in Rafah.

A convoy of trucks from the field hospital’s headquarters transported the food parcels and clothes to Rafah in the southern part of the coastal enclave.

AMMAN — Border guards on Sunday arrested 11 Jordanians who attempted to infiltrate into Syria.

An informed source from the Jordan Armed Forces said the border guards also arrested nine Syrians who attempted to cross into Jordan after three of them were wounded in a shootout.

During the past 72 hours, border guards received 1,591 Syrian refugees who entered through non-official entry points along the northern border, the source said.

AMMAN — After seven Lower House sessions dedicated to discussing the temporary agriculture law, deputies failed to conclude their deliberations on the bill during Sunday’s session, when they again discussed several other provisions tackled in previous sessions.

House Speaker Atef Tarawenh adjourned the meeting until Tuesday.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Sunday met with a delegation representing the Jordanian community in Saudi Arabia.

Tarawneh stressed the importance of encouraging investments in Jordan in all governorates.

He said the Lower House will soon endorse a tax law that offers incentives for investors, adding that there are plans to build new industrial cities and free zones around the country.

The delegation briefed Tarawneh on some of the measures that would encourage Jordanian and Arab businessmen to invest in Jordan.