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Islamists Fail to Overthrow Jordanian Government

His Majesty King Abdullah with Prime Minister Hani Mulki and ministers in January 2017. (Photo courtesy of Royal Court)
His Majesty King Abdullah with Prime Minister Hani Mulki and ministers in January 2017. (Photo courtesy of Royal Court)
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Islamists Fail to Overthrow Jordanian Government

His Majesty King Abdullah with Prime Minister Hani Mulki and ministers in January 2017. (Photo courtesy of Royal Court)
His Majesty King Abdullah with Prime Minister Hani Mulki and ministers in January 2017. (Photo courtesy of Royal Court)

The Jordanian government headed by Prime Minister Hani Mulki survived on Sunday an overthrow attempt by Islamist deputies after the Reform bloc and several other independent lawmakers failed to gather the needed support to pass a memorandum requesting a no-confidence motion against the government.

A total of 67 deputies granted confidence to Mulki’s government while 49 withheld confidence and 8 MPs abstained.

The parliament session was attended by 122 deputies out of the 130-seat Lower House.

Following the confidence given to his government, Mulki said he will move ahead with his government's decisions aiming at "upgrading the living conditions of all Jordanians and strengthening the country."

"The government will move ahead with its decisions and will not procrastinate because it is not seeking popularity," the Prime Minister said.

The no-confidence motion was tabled by the Islamist al-Islah (Reform) parliamentary bloc, which includes independent Islamic lawmakers and the Islamic Action Front, the Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing.

The memorandum requesting a no-confidence motion against the government came following economic decisions taken lately by the government, including recent hikes in prices of some good and taxes, and lifting the bread subsidy.

In response to those decisions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported that citizens staged rallies and sits-in last Friday in Amman and other regions to protest against the recent government decisions to increase prices. The demonstrations called for the resignation of government and the dissolution of Parliament.

However, the government said those decisions were necessary to curb the kingdom's budget deficit.

Jordan had witnessed a similar situation in 1963 when the cabinet of Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai failed to gain a vote of confidence and was forced to resign the following day.

Article 54 of the Constitution says, "A session to consider a vote of confidence in the Council of Ministers or any individual minister shall be held at the request of the prime minister or a request signed by no less than 10 deputies."

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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they also treated two women in their 50s who were wounded in northern Israel.

It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.