Former Jordanian PM Mudar Badran Passes Away

Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)
Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)
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Former Jordanian PM Mudar Badran Passes Away

Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)
Mudar Badran (Petra News Agency)

Mudar Badran, a retired former Jordanian intelligence director, head of the royal court, and prime minister, will be buried on Sunday. He withdrew from political work in the early 1990s and remained committed to a tradition of silence, staying out of the limelight and positions.

He was born in Jerash, Jordan, in 1934. Badran completed his secondary education in Karak in 1951, then he moved to Damascus University to study law.

After returning to Amman in 1956, he joined the Jordanian Armed Forces (Arab Army) as an officer in the Justice Consultative before moving to the General Investigation Department.

In 1964, he and his colleagues were chosen to establish the intelligence agency, where he drafted its laws and became the Assistant Director for External Affairs. He assumed the position of the agency’s head in 1968, shortly before the Battle of Karameh.

In the early 1970s, Badran was appointed as a security advisor to the late King Hussein and the Secretary-General of the Royal Court.

He was shot in the hand during the infamous events of Black September, also known as the Jordanian Civil War, and the effects of the injury remained with him until his death. He left the country for treatment in Beirut, then went to London at that time.

In 1973, during the formation of Zaid Al Rifai’s first government, the late King Hussein asked Badran to join the government as Minister of Education, and he accepted.

During his tenure, he prioritized building schools, increasing teachers' salaries, and sending high school students abroad to become teachers in remote areas.

At the beginning of 1976, the late King Hussein appointed Badran as the head of the Royal Court.

Months later, he was called upon to form the first government, and until 1979, Badran was able to establish strategic infrastructure projects, which he chose to be national projects in sustainable development fields.

After refusing to engage in direct negotiations with Israel, citing their unwillingness to grant the Palestinians land and statehood, Badran retired from political work in June of 1992.



Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers on Monday of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank, in violence that one said was forcing some to consider quitting the occupied territory.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other Jerusalem-based clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

"These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community ... but also to the historic and religious heritage," the patriarch told diplomats and journalists at a press conference in Taybeh.

Settlers had also attacked homes in the area, he said.

"We call for an immediate and transparent investigation on why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished," he added.

Israel's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.

During the visit, the heads of the churches led locals in prayer as candles flickered in the ruins of the 5th century church of St George. They spoke with residents who described their fears.

B'Tselem and other rights groups say settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023.

Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.

Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said two men, including a US citizen, were killed by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night.

Fears over violence were pushing Christians to leave the West Bank, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem since 2020, said.

"Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate is there because of the situation," he added. "This time it's very difficult to see how and when this will finish, and especially for the youth to talk about hope, trust for the future."

Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of the faith's most sacred sites including Bethlehem where believers say Jesus was born.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.