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The sudden visit to COVID victims families that sparked Jordan s royal rift
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi
Reuters
AMMAN (Reuters) -When Prince Hamza visited the relatives of COVID-19 patients who died after a hospital ran out of oxygen, he triggered a rift in Jordan s monarchy that has shaken the country s reputation as a stable country in a volatile region.
The March 14 visit to the city of Salt was, in the words of a senior establishment figure, the straw that broke the camel s back , coming as it did hours after King Abdullah had visited the hospital and publicly scolded management for the nine deaths.
The red letters scrolling across the front of Fikret Oluk s bus say: Stay Home Turkey . But the Istanbul driver said.
Eight people familiar with the situation said that Hamza’s visit had undermined his half-brother the king, and prompted authorities to place him under house arrest and accuse him of involvement in activities aimed at destabilizing the country.
While Hamza and Abdullah have publicly buried the hatchet, the dramatic events of the weekend exposed fault-lines within a royal family that has helped shield Jordan from the turmoil that consumed neighboring Syria and Iraq.
Hamza was widely expected to have succeeded Abdullah as Jordan’s next king, until the monarch made Prince Hussein his heir instead in 2004, in line with family tradition.
The sudden visit to Covid victims families that sparked Jordan s royal rift
The March 14 visit to the city of Salt was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”
Reuters
April 09, 2021
AMMAN:
When Prince Hamza visited the relatives of Covid-19 patients who died after a hospital ran out of oxygen, he triggered a rift in Jordan’s monarchy that has shaken the country’s reputation as a stable country in a volatile region.
The March 14 visit to the city of Salt was, in the words of a senior establishment figure, the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, coming as it did hours after King Abdullah had visited the hospital and publicly scolded management for the nine deaths.