AMMAN, Jordan — A powerful tribe has given the Jordanian government an ultimatum: Release the killer of three U.S. soldiers or face a wave of tribal unrest.

The crisis began July 17 when a Jordanian military tribunal sentenced Maarik al-Tawayha, a soldier, to life in prison for killing the three Americans at an air base in southern Jordan in November.

Just as the government was trying to alleviate tensions over that case, a second crisis shook the kingdom Sunday evening: An Israeli security officer shot and killed two Jordanians on the grounds of the Israeli Embassy after being attacked by one of them with a screwdriver. Many Jordanians were outraged that the officer was allowed to return home to Israel without being questioned.

Citizens, activists and other critics say the handling of the incidents by the government, which is appointed by the king, sent the same message: Jordanian life is cheap.

Caught between its closest Western ally, delicate diplomacy with Israel and an enraged public, the Jordanian government is facing a crisis of credibility.

Maarik al-Tawayha, a soldier, to life in prison for killing the three Americans at an air base in southern Jordan in November. (Ahmad Abdo/EPA)

Jordanians have long prized stability over greater freedoms, enduring austerity measures and a lack of political reforms for the sake of security. But many here say the government is no longer holding up its end of the deal and wonder how much longer they can hold up theirs.

“In the last week, we learned that Jordan is the same as the rest of Arab regimes,” said Mohammed Hussein, a taxi driver from the southern city of Maan.

The case has alienated the regime’s bedrock, the Howeitat — Tawayha’s tribe — which helped lead the Great Arab Revolt that paved the way for the establishment of the country. A century later, the Howeitat sided with the government against pro-democracy protesters.

Critics have pointed out that Tawayha’s case was pushed through in less than nine months, swift by Jordanian terms, and that life sentences do not exist in Jordanian law. Many have also said the presence of the U.S. soldiers’ parents at the trial was proof of outside pressure and influence on the proceedings.

The Arabic hashtag #We_are_all_Maarik is trending on Twitter and Facebook, while the soldier’s image is being shared on social media and has been etched onto the rear windows of trucks as a symbol of what Jordanians say is resistance to foreign “intervention.”

Faced with growing pressure from the Howeitat, and public sentiment siding with Tawayha, the Jordanian government released a video of the shooting on Monday that clearly shows Tawayha gunning down the Americans as they surrendered.

Protestors chant slogans during a demonstration near the Israeli embassy in Amman, Jordan July 28, 2017. (Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

It did little to quell public anger and suspicion.

Images of the security officer involved in the Israeli Embassy shooting being met with a hero’s welcome in Israel and a hug from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu only inflamed tensions further. The officer, who reportedly held diplomatic immunity, returned to Israel less than 24 hours after the shooting without an investigation.

On Friday, Jordan’s state news agency, Petra, reported that the attorney general filed murder charges against the officer. Petra reported that Jordan’s Foreign Ministry had forwarded its investigations and charges to the Israeli government late Friday, expecting the officer to face trial in Israel.

“Before we bury the bodies of our victims, Netanyahu is hugging the officer and asking if he has fixed a date with his girlfriend. This has left a feeling of worthlessness among Jordanians,” said Oraib al-Rantawi of the Amman-based Al Quds Center for Political Studies. “What happened at the Israeli Embassy revived the entire debate about Maarik al-Tawayha and the Jordanian state’s respect of its own citizens.”

Those protesting the embassy shootings have also used Tawayha’s image on social media, while the Howeitat tribe has sent messages of support to the families of the slain Jordanians — a rare sign of political solidarity between southern Bedouin tribes and the mostly Palestinian urban residents of Amman.

The Howeitat have been careful in their language, blaming not the Americans but the Jordanian government for the incident, holding Amman accountable for the trial process.

The Howeitat initially gave Jordan until Saturday to release Tawayha but announced an indefinite postponement to continue talks with the government and the royal palace.

In a statement, the tribe said the delay came out of “national interest” and “the spirit of loyalty to Jordan and His Majesty King Abdullah” in order to reach a compromise.

Returning to Jordan from a trip abroad on Thursday, King Abdullah II paid condolences to the family of Mohamed Jawawdeh, one of the slain Jordanians. The king later called on Netanyahu “to honor his responsibilities and take the necessary legal measures to ensure that the killer is tried and justice is served.”

The Jordanian government announced Thursday that the Israeli ambassador and embassy staff would not be allowed back into the kingdom until “absolute assurances” were given that the shooter will face trial.

But for many Jordanians, it was too little, too late.

“Now the Jordanian government is in a crisis not just with the Howeitat, but with all the Jordanian people — this has become an issue of dignity,” said Saddah Habashneh, one of the few members of parliament to raise both issues.

“There is a complete lack of trust and resentment toward this government by the people,” Habashneh said. “We are afraid of where we go from this point.”

With Saturday’s deadline looming, Jordan’s Tourism Ministry issued a ban this week on tour groups traveling to Wadi Rum, the site whose majestic red sand dunes served as filming locations for “Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Martian,” and from using the stretch of highway between Wadi Rum and the port city of Aqaba, another tourist hub, which runs straight through Howeitat territory.

The U.S. Embassy followed suit Wednesday, barring its staff from traveling to southern Jordan due to “potential unrest” and encouraging U.S. citizens to avoid the area.

“Our problem is not with the Americans; our problem is that the rule of law is applied to some and then scrapped for foreign powers and allies,” said one Howeitat tribal member, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized by tribal leaders to speak on their behalf.


(The Wahington Post)

By Post Editorial Board

Your tax dollars at work: The Palestinian Authority is now using half of its foreign aid to reward terrorism.

The new PA budget boosts support to terrorists in prison by 13 percent and aid for the families of those killed “in the struggle against Zion” 4 percent, reports the Institute for Contemporary Affairs.

The total, $344 million, equals 49.6 percent of all foreign aid to the PA. In other words, cash from Uncle Sam, Europe and even Israel is subsidizing “welfare for terrorists.”

The PA sends a salary to each Palestinian imprisoned for an attack on Israelis, hitting over $3,000 a month after 30 years. Other stipends go to families of “martyrs” killed in the act. That’s $344 million for 2017 that’s not going to build roads or hospitals.

Knowing that you or your family will be taken care of is a clear incentive to kill. That’s why President Trump is threatening to end US aid if the PA doesn’t quit it.

The PA budget is a clear “no” to Trump’s demand. Ball’s in your court, Mr. President.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Saturday the second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile demonstrated his country can hit the U.S. mainland, hours after the launch left analysts concluding that a wide swath of the United States, including Los Angeles and Chicago, is now in range of North Korean weapons.

The Korean Central News Agency said that Kim expressed "great satisfaction" after the Hwasong-14 missile reached a maximum height of 3,725 kilometers (2,314 miles) and traveled 998 kilometers (620 miles) before accurately landing in waters off Japan. The agency said that the test was aimed at confirming the maximum range and other technical aspects of the missile it says was capable of delivering a "large-sized, heavy nuclear warhead."

Analysts had estimated that the North's first ICBM on July 4 could have reached Alaska, and said that the latest missile appeared to extend that range significantly.

Immediately after the launch, U.S. and South Korean forces conducted live-fire exercises. South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo called for the deployment of strategic U.S. military assets — which usually means stealth bombers and aircraft carriers — as well as additional launchers of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system.

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the missile, launched late Friday night, flew for about 45 minutes — about five minutes longer than the first. The missile was launched on very high trajectory, which limited the distance it traveled, and landed west of Japan's island of Hokkaido.

The KCNA quoted Kim as saying that the launch reaffirmed the reliability of the country's ICBM system and an ability to fire at "random regions and locations at random times" with the "entire" U.S. mainland now within range. The agency said that the test confirmed important features of the missile system, such as the proper separation of the warhead and controlling its movement and detonation after atmospheric re-entry.

Kim said the launch sent a "serious warning" to the United States, which has been "meaninglessly blowing its trumpet" with threats of war and stronger sanctions, the KCNA said.

On the streets of Pyongyang, North Koreans welcomed the news of their country's latest missile test while state media broadcast images of a projectile launched into the night sky. Kim Jong Un was seen in the company of military commanders near a mobile missile launcher.

"I feel really confident. From now on, we will develop and have the strongest weapons, strategic weapons, so we can safeguard our sovereignty and independence, so that we can end up winning against the imperialists and against America," said Pak Gi Nam, a student. It is normal for North Koreans talking in front of TV cameras to stick to the official version of events.

The North Korean flight data was similar to assessments by the United States, South Korea and Japan.

David Wright, a physicist and co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said that if reports of the missile's maximum altitude and flight time are correct, it would have a theoretical range of at least 10,400 kilometers (about 6,500 miles). That means it could have reached Los Angeles, Denver or Chicago, depending on variables such as the size and weight of the warhead that would be carried atop such a missile in an actual attack.

President Donald Trump issued a statement condemning the missile test as a threat to the world, and rejecting North Korea's claim that nuclear weapons ensure its security. "In reality, they have the opposite effect," he said.

Trump said the weapons and tests "further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people." He vowed to "take all necessary steps" to ensure the security of the U.S. and its allies.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said he told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a phone call that the second missile test greatly increased the threat from Pyongyang. He said two sides agreed to consider all means necessary to exert the utmost pressure on North Korea. They reiterated calls for new sanctions and to work closely together with South Korea along with efforts by China and Russia.

China, meanwhile, urged its ally North Korea to abide by U.N. Security Council resolutions and halt any moves that could escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Washington and its allies have watched with growing concern as Pyongyang has made significant progress toward its goal of having all of the U.S. within range of its missiles to counter what it labels as U.S. aggression. There are other hurdles, including building nuclear warheads to fit on those missiles and ensuring reliability. But many analysts have been surprised by how quickly leader Kim Jong Un has developed North Korea's nuclear and missile programs despite several rounds of U.N. Security Council sanctions that have squeezed the impoverished country's economy.

Trump has said he will not allow North Korea to obtain an ICBM that can deliver a nuclear warhead. But this week, the Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly concluded that the North will have a reliable ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear weapon as early as next year, in an assessment that trimmed two years from the agency's earlier estimate.

The French Foreign Ministry condemned the launch and called for "strong and additional sanctions" by the United Nations and European Union. "Only maximal diplomatic pressure might bring North Korea to the negotiating table," the ministry said in a statement.

"This is a 4G threat: global, grave, given and growing," France's U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre told The Associated Press. That's why we call for a firm and quick reaction including the adoption of strong additional sanctions by the Security Council."

A spokesman for Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that Dunford met at the Pentagon with the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, Adm. Harry Harris, to discuss U.S. military options in light of North Korea's missile test.

The spokesman, Navy Capt. Greg Hicks, said Dunford and Harris placed a phone call to Dunford's South Korean counterpart, Gen. Lee Sun Jin. Dunford and Harris "expressed the ironclad commitment to the U.S.-Republic of Korea alliance," Hicks said, referring to the U.S. defense treaty that obliges the U.S. to defend South Korea.

Abe, too, said Japan would cooperate closely with the U.S., South Korea and other nations to step up pressure on North Korea to halt its missile programs.

The Hwasong 14 ICBM test-fired earlier this month was also launched at a very steep angle, a technique called lofting, and reached a height of more than 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) before splashing down in the ocean 930 kilometers (580 miles) away. Analysts said that missile could be capable of reaching most of Alaska or possibly Hawaii if fired in an attacking trajectory.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from North Korea's northern Jagang province near the border with China. President Moon Jae-in presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, which called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and stronger sanctions on North Korea.

July 27 is a major national holiday in North Korea called Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War Day, marking the day when the armistice was signed ending the 1950-53 Korean War. That armistice is yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically in a state of war.

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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writers Robert Burns and Darlene Superville in Washington, Kim Tong-hyung and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Edith Lederer at the United Nations and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.

(abcNEWS)