Jordan's King Appoints New Intelligence Director

 Jordan's King Abdullah II during the 2019 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Center at the Dead Sea, in Jordan on April 6, 2019 (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty)
Jordan's King Abdullah II during the 2019 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Center at the Dead Sea, in Jordan on April 6, 2019 (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty)
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Jordan's King Appoints New Intelligence Director

 Jordan's King Abdullah II during the 2019 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Center at the Dead Sea, in Jordan on April 6, 2019 (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty)
Jordan's King Abdullah II during the 2019 World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Center at the Dead Sea, in Jordan on April 6, 2019 (Khalil Mazraawi/AFP/Getty)

Jordanian King Abdullah II has appointed Major General Ahmed Husni as the new Director of the country’s General Intelligence Department (GID), replacing Lieutenant General Adnan al-Jundi.

The new director, who held major positions in the past, has served as director of Amman’s intelligence at the rank of brigadier general for five years, during which the Kingdom witnessed wide changes in street demands.

Husni took over his duties as part of efforts to accomplish the development of the General Intelligence Service and its structure, within the criteria of enhancing the efficiency of the department, which is the most connected to the constitutional state institutions, security sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Sources added that the move comes as part of changes that include the nature of work of some state institutions whose performance has recently deteriorated.

Husni had joined the GID in the early 1980s, and sources said he was one of its operations officers. He served as director of the Department of Foreign Affairs before becoming director of Amman’s Intelligence Department and then the most prominent assistant to Jundi.

King Abdullah’s decision comes one week after making major changes within the Royal Court.

He appointed Bishr al-Khasawneh as his communication and coordination adviser, Kamal al-Nasser as the policies and information adviser and Manar al-Dabbas and Mohammed al-Assass as his general advisers.

Political sources in Amman spoke of imminent changes in the leadership of the security services.

“These changes will include restructuring official media sectors to enhance communication with public opinion after the decline in the impact of official media institutions in transferring news and information,” said Jordanian officials.

They explained that the decline is due to the dominance of social media sites which lack accuracy and credibility.



Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
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Jerusalem Patriarch Hails Pope’s Commitment to Gaza

Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa speaks during a press conference at the Latin Catholic patriarchate at the Old City of Jerusalem, 22 April 2025. (EPA)

The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Tuesday hailed Pope Francis's support for Gazans and engagement with the small Catholic community in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The Catholic church's highest authority in the region, who is considered a potential successor to the late pontiff, Pizzaballa told journalists in Jerusalem that "Gaza represents, a little bit, all what was the heart of his pontificate".

Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, advocated peace and "closeness to the poor... and to the neglected one", said the patriarch.

These positions became particularly evident in Francis's response to the Israel-Hamas war which broke out in October 2023, Pizzaballa said.

"He was very close to the community of Gaza, the parish of Gaza, he kept calling them many times -- for a certain period, also every day, every evening at 7 pm," said the patriarch.

He added that by doing so, the pope "became for the community something stable, and also comforting for them, and he knew this".

Out of the Gaza Strip's 2.4 million people, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox, but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City, and some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge there.

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war. The day before his death, in a final Easter message delivered on Sunday, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the besieged territory.

"Work for justice... but without becoming part of the conflict," said Pizzaballa of the late pontiff's actions.

"For us, for the Church, it leaves an important legacy."

The patriarch thanked the numerous Palestinian and Israeli public figures who have offered their condolences, preferring not to comment on the lack of any official message from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even as "the local authorities... were not always happy" with the pope's positions or statements, they were "always very respectful", he said.

Pizzaballa said he will travel to Rome on Wednesday, after leading a requiem mass for the pope at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in the morning.

As one of the 135 cardinal electors, the Latin patriarch will participate in the conclave to elect a new pope.

Pizzaballa, a 60-year-old Italian Franciscan who also speaks English and Hebrew, arrived in Jerusalem in 1990 and was made a cardinal in September 2023, just before the Gaza war began.

His visits to Gaza and appeals for peace since then have attracted international attention.