Jordan Warns Against Strife, ‘Suspicious Agendas’

Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)
Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)
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Jordan Warns Against Strife, ‘Suspicious Agendas’

Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)
Faisal Al-Fayez (Jordanian Senate)

Jordan has warned against attempts to distort its position on the war in Gaza, saying that it was confronting a “suspicious movements to sow discord and chaos in the country.”

In remarks on Thursday, the head of the Jordanian Senate, Faisal Al-Fayez, said: “Jordanians will not accept that demonstrations and protests turn into platforms for sowing discord and an arena for implementing the agendas of others.”

His statements came in response to slogans launched by protesters in the vicinity of the Israeli embassy in Amman, criticizing Jordanian efforts to support Gaza.

“These demonstrations will not turn into suspicious movements to sow discord and chaos,” Al-Fayez said. “We will confront every hand that seeks to tamper with Jordan’s security.”

The authorities accuse the unlicensed Muslim Brotherhood in the country of being behind the sit-ins that began during the past few days.

In this context, and in response to a question about criticism of the Hamas movement for calling on the people of Jordan to support the Palestinians, Osama Hamdan, a leader in Hamas, said: “The movement has been calling on all the people of our nation and all the free people of the world to stand by the Palestinians.”

In a press conference in Beirut, Hamdan noted that the Hamas movement was calling “on the entire nation and all the free people of the world to escalate their pressure on the American administration and Israel.”

He also stressed that no progress has been made so far in negotiations with Israel over a ceasefire and a prisoner exchange agreement.

“The Israeli position is intransigent, and the negotiations are taking place in a vicious circle... [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government are trying to buy time and show a false interest in negotiating,” he stated.



EU Official Hold Talks in Algeria on ‘New Pact for Mediterranean’

European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)
European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)
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EU Official Hold Talks in Algeria on ‘New Pact for Mediterranean’

European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)
European Commission Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf Stefano Sannino. (EU)

The European Commission’s Director-General for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, Stefano Sannino, made an official visit to Algiers on Tuesday to discuss with senior Algerian officials the reviving of their “Partnership Agreement” and a plan to engage the partner countries of the Southern Neighborhood in the New Pact for the Mediterranean.

In a statement, the European Commission said Sannino will stay in Algeria until April 24.

“This mission is firmly in line with the consultations conducted on the New Pact for the Mediterranean, which the European Commission will adopt in the coming months, with a view to promoting a more integrated and supportive approach to regional cooperation,” the statement said.

During this visit, Sannino will hold talks with representatives of several Algerian ministerial departments, including Foreign Affairs, Energy, Finance, and Culture.

He will also take part, on Wednesday, in the opening of a conference on “New Investment Dynamics and Prospects for Cooperation” between the European Union in Algeria, jointly organized by the Delegation of the European Union in Algeria and the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency (AAPI), in the presence of representatives of the Algerian Economic Renewal Council (CREA) and the business community in Algeria.

The visit will provide a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the EU’s commitment to revitalizing bilateral cooperation with Algeria, within the broader and strategically articulated framework of the New Pact for the Mediterranean, the Commission said.

It added that the EU “aspires to a partnership that goes beyond the very strong existing relations, particularly in the energy sector, to build other strategic complementarities for sustainable and inclusive growth, in a changing geopolitical context and facing shared challenges such as reindustrialization, economic competitiveness, and the green transition.”

The visit comes as Algeria’s Foreign and Commerce ministries hold talks with the North Africa Unit at the Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations of the European Commission, aimed at reviving their “Partnership Agreement” signed in 2002.

The new Agenda for the Mediterranean was launched by the European Union in 2021 to strengthen the strategic partnership with its Southern Neighborhood partners in trade and renewable energies, upgrading facilities and infrastructure, and managing migration and counter-terrorism issues.