Jordan’s King Orders Amnesty Law to 'Mitigate Challenges'

Jordan's King Abdullah speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Jordan's King Abdullah speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
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Jordan’s King Orders Amnesty Law to 'Mitigate Challenges'

Jordan's King Abdullah speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
Jordan's King Abdullah speaks during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, Cyprus January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Jordan’s King Abdullah II ordered the government to issue a draft amnesty law in response to popular demands.

“This will contribute to easing pressures facing citizens,” the monarch was quoted as saying in a royal palace statement.

The new law will pardon several thousand people jailed for convictions ranging from theft to embezzlement but excludes terror, treason and premeditated murder.

According to a statement issued by the Royal Court, the king ordered the government to issue a general amnesty law and complete its constitutional stages, in order to reduce challenges and pressure facing the citizens.

King Abdullah called for giving wrongdoers an opportunity to find the right path and correct their conduct, especially as other people have suffered financially from their misconduct.

The move comes in solidarity with citizens who are going through difficult conditions, according to the statement.

The Jordanian monarch underlined the necessity for the general amnesty to respect the rule of law, to prevent harming national security, and the rights of citizens.

A government source confirmed that the government’s legal committee would prepare a draft law and send it to the House of Representatives.

King Abdullah also expressed hope that the general pardon would play a role in entrenching patriotism and enhancing social security, as it would give inmates of reform and rehabilitation centers an opportunity to resume their lives and return to their families, according to the official statement.



UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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UN Agency Says Israel Shuts 4 Schools in East Jerusalem

A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
A boy stands outside the gate of the Kalandia vocational training center (KTC), run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was raided by Israeli forces earlier at the Qalandiya camp for Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says Israeli forces raided four of its schools in east Jerusalem, ordering their closure.

Israel has severed all ties with the agency, known as UNRWA, and bars it from operating in its territory. It says the agency allowed itself to be infiltrated by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, allegations denied by UN officials.

UNRWA said police entered a training center by force on Tuesday, firing tear gas and sound grenades and ordering its evacuation. It said 350 students and 30 staff were present during the raid on the Qalandiya Training Center.

It said police and city officials ordered the closure of three other schools in east Jerusalem, two of which proceeded with the school day.

Israeli police spokesman Dean Elsdunne said police did not enter the UN buildings and that Jerusalem municipal authorities carried out the closures. He said police were deployed to protect the city workers, using “riot dispersal” means in one case where a crowd threw stones at them outside a UN facility.

Roland Friedrich, UNRWA director for the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, said the raids were an “unacceptable violation of United Nations privileges and immunities,” and a “denial of the right to education for children and trainees.”