Royal feud in Jordan causes some to question the monarchy latimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from latimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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As the names of some those captured seeped out many are still unknown Jordanians were shocked. Most of those arrested hailed from the country’s so-called East Bank tribes, the powerful clans that for decades had been the monarchy’s sword and shield, its soldiers and statesmen. East Bankers consider themselves the country’s Indigenous inhabitants, rather than the Jordanians of Palestinian origin who came from areas west of the Jordan River.
The arrests, officials say, were the result of a year-long surveillance operation by the army, police and intelligence service. In their telling, they struck just before the zero hour, averting a wave of chaos and discontent that Prince Hamzah hoped to unleash and ride into the palace to replace his half brother, King Abdullah II.
Jordan s powerful tribes on collision course with monarchy over alleged royal plot msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Jordan s Prince Hamzah Bin Al-Hussein, in 2015. (KHALIL MAZRAAWI / AFP)
AMMAN, Jordan Jordanian King Abdullah II’s half-brother Prince Hamzah, allegedly involved in a plot to destabilize the country, will not face trial, the prime minister told a closed session of parliament Monday.
Lawmakers who attended the meeting also quoted Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh as denying there had been an “attempted coup.”
Earlier this month, the government accused Hamzah a former crown prince who was sidelined as heir to the throne in 2004 of involvement in a conspiracy to “destabilize the kingdom’s security,” and arrested at least 16 people.
The king broke his silence last Wednesday to tell the nation the worst political crisis in decades was over and on Sunday, Abdullah appeared in public alongside Hamzah.