Jordan's Prime Minister After Massive Anti-Austerity Protests

Al Jazeera: Jordan PM Hani al-Mulki resigns amid mass protests over tax bill

Hani al-Mulki submitted his resignation after widespread anger over price hikes and income tax reform bill, sources say.

Jordanian Prime Minister Hani al-Mulki submitted his resignation in a meeting with King Abdullah II on Monday, according to official sources.

His resignation comes amid mass protests over price hikes and an income tax reform bill.

According to the official source, the move is aimed at defusing the anger over the economic policies.

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More News On The Unrest In Jordan

Jordan king asks Omar al-Razzaz to form new government: ministerial source -- Reuters
Jordan PM Hani Mulki quits after austerity protests -- BBC
Jordan PM resigns after anti-austerity protests -- AFP
Jordan PM resigns after anti-austerity protests -- i24 News
Jordan's prime minister resigns after days of mass protests -- Middle East Eye
Jordan PM Mulki resigns after protests -- Gulf News
Jordan sees largest anti-government protests in years -- Al Jazeera
Analysis Israel Warily Watches as Jordan Rocked by Biggest Protests in Years -- Jerusalem Post
ANALYSIS: Will Middle East turmoil finally reach Jordan? -- Arutz Sheva

Jordan Rocked By Anti-Government Protests

Al Jazeera: Protests against IMF-backed tax reform bill continue in Jordan

Demonstrators gather near the office of prime minister in Amman to protest against price hikes and tax increases.

Hundreds of people in Jordan's capital have protested for the third consecutive day against the increase of living costs and a new income tax draft law.

Rallied kicked off after more than 33 unions participated in a general strike on Wednesday, accusing the government of covering up failed economic policies.

On Saturday, crowds of people made their way to Amman's Fourth Roundabout, where the office of the prime minister is located.

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WNU Editor: the government is vowing to not back down .... Jordanian PM rejects demands to scrap tax law after protests (Reuters)

More News On The Growing Unrest In Jordan

Protests against tax bill continue for third consecutive day -- Jordan Times
Jordanians in third night of tax rise protests -- BBC
Jordan protests snowball over IMF-backed austerity -- AFP
King Abdullah of Jordan blames regional turmoil for economic crisis amid protests -- SKY News
Jordan Rocked by Biggest Protests in Years as Demonstrators Rally Against Austerity Measures -- Haaretz
Jordan’s growing protests ‘an explosion waiting to happen’ -- Arab News

Will The U.S. And Israel Intervene In A Jordan - ISIS War?

Reuters

Israel Could Get Dragged Into ISIS’s War, Obama Admin Warns -- Eli Lake, Daily Beast

If ISIS threatens the survival of Jordan, the Obama administration believes, it would ask for help from two of the least popular countries in the Middle East: America and Israel.

The terror group that’s taken over major portions of Iraq and Syria won’t be content with roiling those two countries, senior Obama administration officials told Senators in a classified briefing this week. The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) also has its eyes on Jordan; in fact, its jihadists are already Tweeting out photos and messages claiming a key southern town in Jordan already belongs to them.

An ISIS attack on Jordan could make an already complex conflict nightmarishly tangled, the officials added in their briefing. If the Jordanians are seriously threatened by ISIS, they would almost certainly try to enlist Israel and the United States into the war now engulfing the Middle East.

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My Comment: Before Israel or the U.S. becomes involved .... my money will be on the Egyptians and Saudis intervening first.

Unrest Hits Jordan For A Second Day

Jordan Hit With More Protests, Work Stoppages Over Fuel Price Hikes -- Washington Post

AMMAN, Jordan — Security forces battled demonstrators armed with torches and in some cases firearms in a number of violent clashes across Jordan on Wednesday, as protests over rising fuel prices entered a second day.

At least 14 people were reported injured and 35 protesters were arrested during two days of scattered melees that included assaults on government buildings and the torching of cars and gas stations. The disturbances, the worst in Jordan since Arab Spring protests began 23 months ago, stoked fears of deepening unrest in this strategically vital U.S. ally.

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More News On The Growing Unrest In Jordan

Jordan Hit by 2nd Day of Violent Street Protests -- ABC News/AP
Thousands chant 'revolution' in rare protest against Jordan's king -- NBC
Security forces clash with protesters in Jordan -- L.A. Times
Jordanians Protest Rising Fuel Prices -- Voice of America
Riots Erupt Across Jordan Over Gas Prices -- New York Times
New wave of protest sweeps Jordan -- The National
Jordan risks instability after lifting of subsidies -- Reuters
Jordanian protesters make rare move: speak out against King Abdullah -- CNN
Jordan's Abdullah Can Only Blame Himself -- Bloomberg
Jordan’s Survival Strategy Hits a Wall: Tightening Funds Make It Hard to Buy Support -- Tony Karon, Time

Is Syria's Civil War About To Spread Into Jordan?

INSIGHT: Jordan – Next Battleground in Syria Conflict? -- Middle East Voices

Concerns that the violence in Syria could spill over the border into Jordan were realized when a group of Jordanian militants were arrested, accused of planning a series of attacks in the capital, Amman.

On October 21, Jordan’s General Intelligence Directorate (GID) announced that it had detained 11 local militants, who it alleged had been training with al-Qaida-linked groups in Iraq and smuggling weapons from Syria. The men were said to have been going in and out of Syria for some months and were planning attacks designed to seriously destabilize Jordan.

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More News On A Syrian Spillover Into Jordan

Syrian jihadist spillover haunts Jordan -- Reuters
Lebanon and Jordan Move Quickly to Contain Syria-Related Violence -- New York Times
Syrian Refugees Struggle in Jordanian Camps -- Voice of America
Al-Qaeda's gift to Jordan's King Abdullah -- Jillian Schwedler, Al Jazeera
Why failed terror attack in Jordan matters to U.S. -- Jonathan Schanzer, Special to CNN

Unrest Growing In Jordan

Jordanian protesters calling themselves the Youth of March 24 Movement demonstrate for political reform and clash against government supporters in Amman. (March, 2011. Muhammad Hamed / Reuters)

Disquiet On The Jordanian Front -- Carnegie Endowment

September has witnessed a massive—and potentially irreversible—shift in strategy among segments of Jordan’s opposition movement: a number of political activists are now openly and repeatedly calling for a limitation of the monarchy's powers—with a small (though extremely vocal) minority even explicitly calling for the abdication of King Abdullah II. In a strikingly blunt statement by the organizers of the 8 September protest in East Amman's Haya al-Tafileh neighborhood—who gathered in response to arrest of a number of fellow activists a day prior and later reorganized on September 11 and 13 at Amman’s Interior Ministry Circle and Second Circle—accusations struck at the king's carefully curated international image as a modern, democracy-building reformer. Their Facebook statement reads, in part: "You are disguised in the costume of freedom and democracy, while hiding inside of you is absolute fascism and control over the destiny of this country and the livelihood of its people. We can no longer be patient with this repression of our arrested sons, with no guilt other than demanding freedom and social justice for all Jordanians, and fighting corruption that is royally sponsored." [Full Arabic original and English translation available here]

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My Comment: With a full blown civil war in it's neighbor Syria .... the Arab Spring will probably be taking a back seat in Jordan. But the civil war in Syria will end one day, and Jordan (along with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf sheikdoms) are probably next for the Arab Spring to 'visit'..

Jordan Teetering On Civil War?

Jordan Teetering On Civil War, Local Analysts Say -- Jerusalem Post

Violence in weekend’s demonstrations, which left one dead and 120 wounded, viewed as watershed moment in the kingdom's history.

Jordan's social cohesion is quickly unraveling, local experts warn, following violent demonstrations in the kingdom and an obtuse government response to public demands for change.

One protester was killed and 120 wounded in the bloodiest demonstrations yet to take place in the kingdom since popular protests began sweeping through the Middle East in January.

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More News On The Unrest In Jordan

Jordan tensions threaten political stability -- Channel News Asia
Jordan PM accuses Muslim Brotherhood over riots -- Ynet News
Jordan's Islamists urge government to resign -- Sify News
Jordan king urges unity after unrest -- AFP
Hundreds Gather to Mourn Jordanian Protester -- Voice of America
At least 1,000 attend burial of Jordan protester -- AFP
Jordan's urgent need to restore calm on streets -- National editorial

My Comment: I have trouble seeing Jordan plunging into civil war .... but then again .... three months ago the last thing that was in my mind was the prospect of the Middle East being inflamed with the spirit of revolution that it is experiencing today.

Unrest In Jordan -- News Updates March 25, 2011

Jordan: Man Dies In Hospital After Amman Clashes -- BBC

A man has died after Jordanian security forces used batons and sprayed water to disperse a clash between pro-monarchy and pro-reform demonstrators in Amman.

Amer Khairy Saad told Reuters that his father, Khairy, had died in hospital.

He said police had beaten him as they were trying to disperse the opposing crowds who had gathered near the interior ministry in the capital.

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More News On The Unrest In Jordan

Police in Jordan Intervene in Protest Clashes -- Wall Street Journal
JORDAN: Protests turn violent, scores reportedly injured [Updated] -- L.A. Times
One killed as Jordan police disperse clash -- Reuters
More than 100 people injured as demonstrators clash in Jordan -- CNN
Man dies, 130 injured in Jordan clashes -- AFP
Jordanian 'loyalists' attack, injure youths: witnesses -- AFP
One demonstrator dead in Jordan as police break up clashing protests -- USA Today