Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jordan. Show all posts
Friday, March 13, 2015
Friday, July 19, 2013
Tribulation Watch: Kerry announces renewal of direct peace negotiations
End Of Days News
“We have reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming negotiations. This is a significant and welcome step forward,” said Kerry at a press conference in Amman.
“We know that challenges lay ahead. Both sides understand that the dfficult road ahead is worth travelling. They have courageously recognized that in order to live side by side, they must begin by sitting together in direct talks,” said Kerry.
“I look forward to seeing my friends from this region in Washington next week” or shortly after, he added.
Kerry was back in Amman Friday evening after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah earlier, where he was a guest at the Iftar meal with the Palestinian leader in the West Bank city.
“Mr. President, you should look happy,” a cheerful-looking Kerry said to Abbas in front of reporters as they sat before the closed-door talks began.
Kerry stepped up his drive Friday to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, facing Palestinian reluctance over his formula for resuming peace talks after nearly five years.
Kerry held more than 90 minutes of talks Friday morning with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, a US official said.
At a stormy late-night meeting of their leadership Thursday, Palestinians balked at dropping a main condition for talks with the Israelis. They demand a guarantee that negotiations on borders between a Palestinian state and Israel would be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
On sixth visit to region, US secretary of state says ‘difficult road ahead is worth travelling’; sides expected in Washington next week
“We have reached an agreement that establishes a basis for resuming negotiations. This is a significant and welcome step forward,” said Kerry at a press conference in Amman.
“We know that challenges lay ahead. Both sides understand that the dfficult road ahead is worth travelling. They have courageously recognized that in order to live side by side, they must begin by sitting together in direct talks,” said Kerry.
“I look forward to seeing my friends from this region in Washington next week” or shortly after, he added.
Kerry was back in Amman Friday evening after meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah earlier, where he was a guest at the Iftar meal with the Palestinian leader in the West Bank city.
“Mr. President, you should look happy,” a cheerful-looking Kerry said to Abbas in front of reporters as they sat before the closed-door talks began.
Kerry stepped up his drive Friday to get Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiating table, facing Palestinian reluctance over his formula for resuming peace talks after nearly five years.
Kerry held more than 90 minutes of talks Friday morning with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, a US official said.
At a stormy late-night meeting of their leadership Thursday, Palestinians balked at dropping a main condition for talks with the Israelis. They demand a guarantee that negotiations on borders between a Palestinian state and Israel would be based on the cease-fire line that held from 1949 until the 1967 war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and east Jerusalem. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Jordan asks US to post Patriot interceptors for regional war
End Of Days News
DEBKAfile May 21, 2013, 6:10 PM (GMT+02:00)
Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour told US media Tuesday that his government was fearing up for the imminent eruption of a regional war with Syria and had asked Washington to station Patriot missile interceptors on the Jordanian-Syrian border. Ensour said Jordan would not permit its territory to be used for mounting aggression against Syria.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Jordan mulling ‘diplomatic and legal’ measures against Israel
End Of Days News
Senate speaker Taher Al-Masri accuses Israel of striving to replace Al-Aqsa Mosque with Jewish temple
Jordan has hardened its rhetoric regarding Israel, with a government spokesman threatening the Jewish state with “political, diplomatic and legal” measures in response to Israeli security restrictions on the Temple Mount ahead of Jerusalem Day last week.
Jordan’s government spokesman and communications minister Mohammed Al-Momani said Tuesday that Israeli ambassador Daniel Nevo left for Israel last week after being summoned by Jordan’s foreign ministry, which handed him a harshly worded letter for the Israeli government.
“He has not returned to Amman since that meeting,” reported independent Jordanian daily Al-Arab Al-Yawm.
Jordan’s lower house of parliament unanimously voted to banish the ambassador on May 8after Israel banned Muslim worshipers under the age of 50 from the Temple Mount and summoned Jerusalem Mufti Mohammed Hussein over his involvement in disturbances near the Al-Aqsa mosque that day. The vote had symbolic but little practical importance.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Here it is!!!! Jordan FINALLY goes against Israel! Psalms 83 will follow!!!! Jordanian parliament votes to eject Israeli envoy
End Of Days News
The Jordanian Parliament on Wednesday voted unanimously in favor of petitioning the government to expel Israel’s ambassador in Amman and recall Jordan’s ambassador in Tel Aviv in protest of alleged Israeli desecration of holy sites in Jerusalem.
It was not yet clear what action, if any, the Jordanian government would take against Israeli Ambassador to Jordan Daniel Nevo in light of the vote. The Israeli embassy in Jordan was not available for comment.
Friday, April 19, 2013
Patriot missiles to be deployed along Jordan-Syria border
End Of Days News
US Army officials have agreed to deploy two Patriot missile batteries along the Jordan-Syria border, London-based paper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Friday.
According to the report, the decision came after Jordanian officials requested that the US assist in protecting and securing the kingdom’s borders.
Citing a Jordanian source, the report also claimed that the two Patriot missile batteries will be transferred from Qatar and Kuwait.
Earlier this year, several Patriot batteries were redeployed along the Turkey-Syria border after Ankara requested protection from stray mortar shells.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
King to visit Turkey Tuesday
End Of Days News
AMMAN (Petra) - His Majesty King Abdullah II and Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah on Tuesday will visit Turkey for talks with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region.
The king will also meet Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Cemil Cicek for talks on means of boosting Parliamentary cooperation.
The king will also meet Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Cemil Cicek for talks on means of boosting Parliamentary cooperation.
Jordan bracing for devastating desert locust swarms
End Of Days News
AMMONNEWS - Jordan and neighboring countries are bracing this week for an invasion of desert locust swarms moving eastward from Egypt, estimated at over 30 million locusts.
The locusts originated from breeding that has been in progress since November in southeast Egypt, moving north along the Red Sea Coast, and reaching Cairo on Saturday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization FAO announced.
The locusts reached Cairo by flying on warm southerly and southeasterly winds associated with a low pressure system over the central Mediterranean.
Monday, March 4, 2013
Jordan takes part in Arab League meeting
End Of Days News
CAIRO (Petra) -- Arab League ambassadors meet tomorrow ahead of a ministerial session on Wednesday which will tackle a host of political, economic and social issues and the Palestinian cause.
Jordan will be represented by its ambassador to Egypt and permanent Arab League representative Bishr Khasawneh at the pan-Arab organisation's 139th session.
Tomorrow's meeting at the Arab League's Cairo headquarters will tackle issues pertaining to joint Arab action, the 2002 Arab peace initiative, Jewish settlements, Palestinian refugees and a deficit-stricken UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency that helps the refugees.
http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=20395
Jordan will be represented by its ambassador to Egypt and permanent Arab League representative Bishr Khasawneh at the pan-Arab organisation's 139th session.
Tomorrow's meeting at the Arab League's Cairo headquarters will tackle issues pertaining to joint Arab action, the 2002 Arab peace initiative, Jewish settlements, Palestinian refugees and a deficit-stricken UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency that helps the refugees.
http://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=20395
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Jordan secures $70-million World Bank loan
End Of Days News
AMMAN (Petra) -- The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has signed a $70-million loan agreement with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises at competitive interest rate and through local banks.
Under the deal, IBRD will lend the loan to the government and will be re-lent to local banks through which target companies with the receive the funding. The central said the deal stems from its keenness to support micro, small and medium enterprises for their vital role in supporting economic growth, slashing unemployment and fighting poverty.
The CBJ said the funding will run through 15 years at an interest rate of 2.5 percent for the fist year.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Putin Meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II
End Of Days News
According to earlier reports, the two leaders were supposed to discuss in particular the proposed Russian participation in a project to build Jordan's first nuclear power plant (NPP), but it was unclear from a statement on the meeting posted on the Kremlin’s website whether that particular topic was discussed and to what extent.
The Kremlin said earlier that “the heads of state will discuss the possibility of Russian participation in the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the Kingdom of Jordan, as well as infrastructural development and mining.”
Jordan first announced plans to build its own nuclear capacity and exploit the country’s uranium resources in 2008. Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom is on a short list of potential contractors for the NPP project.
NOVO-OGARYOVO, February 20 (RIA Novosti) -
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Jordan’s King Abdullah II met in Moscow on
Tuesday to discuss bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, military
technology, investment, energy and humanitarian sectors, the Kremlin
reported.
According to earlier reports, the two leaders were supposed to discuss in particular the proposed Russian participation in a project to build Jordan's first nuclear power plant (NPP), but it was unclear from a statement on the meeting posted on the Kremlin’s website whether that particular topic was discussed and to what extent.
The Kremlin said earlier that “the heads of state will discuss the possibility of Russian participation in the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the Kingdom of Jordan, as well as infrastructural development and mining.”
Jordan first announced plans to build its own nuclear capacity and exploit the country’s uranium resources in 2008. Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom is on a short list of potential contractors for the NPP project.
The Fukushima disaster led to a clear
commitment from the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission that any reactor built
must meet current Western standards of safety and would undergo a full safety
assessment by an experienced and credible independent safety regulatory
body.
In May 2012 the Jordanian Parliament voted to
suspend the NPP program and the uranium exploration effort pending the
completion of economic feasibility and environmental impact assessments.
Meanwhile, Rosatom provided 12 Jordanian
nuclear physicists with scholarships to study in Russia.
Jordan currently relies on fossil fuels, but
imports 97 percent of its energy needs from neighboring countries.
“The heads of state also exchanged views on
current issues on the international agenda, including the situation in Syria and
the Middle East peace process,” the Kremlin said in a statement Tuesday.
Putin praised bilateral trade, and Abdullah
II said the countries have a lot of interesting economic projects that may be
discussed, adding that military and technological cooperation was developing
well.
According to the Russian government,
Russian-Jordanian trade grew 22% in 2012 to $426.5 million. Russian exports,
mainly oil products, steel and grain, dominate bilateral trade.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
GOG/MAGOG setup: Russia slams Israeli attack on Syria. US forces in Jordan on alert
End Of Days News
The Syrian announcement of an Israeli air strike on a military site near Damascus Wednesday, Jan. 30, drew strong condemnation from Moscow the next day: “Such action if confirmed would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country,” said the statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry Thursday. “If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violate the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it.”
Israel has made no comment on the Damascus statement which described in detail an Israeli air strike against a “military research institute” near the capital. Witnesses say it was a plant for manufacturing “unconventional weapons.” The facility was destroyed and two staff members killed.
Lebanese sources later reported a Russian Mig-31 fighter had crossed over Sinai Wednesday in the direction of Israel. It veered west over the Mediterranean after encountering an Israeli warning not to intrude into its air space and continued flying over Lebanon.
debkafile’s military sources say that the only external military force in the eastern Mediterranean region is a fleet of 18 Russian warships, which includes landing-craft – among the largest in the Russian Navy – with 2,000 marines aboard.
According to various Middle East sources, the Syrian report of an Israeli air strike has touched off high military alerts across the region. Syria has put its Golan forces on the Israel border on combat readiness and the Lebanese and Jordanian armies are on alert. So too are the Russian fleet opposite Syria and the Lebanese army.
Our military sources report that Turkish units on the Syrian border are on high preparedness although Ankara played down the reports of the Israeli air strike in Syria, uncomfortable over the fact that the Israeli Air Force was the first external power to intervene directly in the Syrian conflict.
So too are the US air force units stationed at the Turkish Incerlik air base, the US special forces deployed at the Jordanian Mafraq air facility and the American, German and Dutch Patriot missile interceptors deployed in Turkey opposite Syria. Israel has been on high alert since last week.
The prevailing estimate in military and intelligence circles in Washington and NATO capitals is that the Israeli air attack on the Syrian military site near Damascus was but the opening shot for the coming round of military blows they expect to be exchanged in the near future between Israel, Syria and Hizballah, with Iran possibly waiting in the wings for a chance to pitch in.
; "Israeli Air Force F-15 Eagle takes off")
The Syrian announcement of an Israeli air strike on a military site near Damascus Wednesday, Jan. 30, drew strong condemnation from Moscow the next day: “Such action if confirmed would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country,” said the statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry Thursday. “If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violate the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it.”
Israel has made no comment on the Damascus statement which described in detail an Israeli air strike against a “military research institute” near the capital. Witnesses say it was a plant for manufacturing “unconventional weapons.” The facility was destroyed and two staff members killed.
Lebanese sources later reported a Russian Mig-31 fighter had crossed over Sinai Wednesday in the direction of Israel. It veered west over the Mediterranean after encountering an Israeli warning not to intrude into its air space and continued flying over Lebanon.
debkafile’s military sources say that the only external military force in the eastern Mediterranean region is a fleet of 18 Russian warships, which includes landing-craft – among the largest in the Russian Navy – with 2,000 marines aboard.
According to various Middle East sources, the Syrian report of an Israeli air strike has touched off high military alerts across the region. Syria has put its Golan forces on the Israel border on combat readiness and the Lebanese and Jordanian armies are on alert. So too are the Russian fleet opposite Syria and the Lebanese army.
Our military sources report that Turkish units on the Syrian border are on high preparedness although Ankara played down the reports of the Israeli air strike in Syria, uncomfortable over the fact that the Israeli Air Force was the first external power to intervene directly in the Syrian conflict.
So too are the US air force units stationed at the Turkish Incerlik air base, the US special forces deployed at the Jordanian Mafraq air facility and the American, German and Dutch Patriot missile interceptors deployed in Turkey opposite Syria. Israel has been on high alert since last week.
The prevailing estimate in military and intelligence circles in Washington and NATO capitals is that the Israeli air attack on the Syrian military site near Damascus was but the opening shot for the coming round of military blows they expect to be exchanged in the near future between Israel, Syria and Hizballah, with Iran possibly waiting in the wings for a chance to pitch in.
http://www.debka.com/article/22724/Russia-slams-Israeli-attack-on-Syria-US-forces-in-Jordan-on-alert
Friday, January 18, 2013
JORDAN NEWS: Islamists, Pro-Reform Movements demonstrate in Amman, blasting elections
Protesters crowded at the Jabal Hussein vital intersection, Firas Circle, and extended towards Interior Ministry Circle.
The area was cleared of traffic since early Friday morning, in preparation for the demonstration that included a Friday prayer sermon delivered by Jordan Muslim Brotherhood comptroller Hammam Saeed.
The Public Security Department (PSD) has made a comprehensive plan to deal with the major demonstration planned to be staged by the Islamist and pro-reform movements in Amman on Friday, less than a week before the scheduled upcoming parliamentary elections.
PSD spokesperson Lt. Col. Mohammad Khatib said that security forces will take measures to facilitate traffic during the protest, scheduled to be held following Friday mid-day prayer at Firas Circle in Jabal Hussein, nearby the Interior Ministry Circle.
Police blocked all entrances into the vital intersection starting at 7 AM.
The Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), in addition to various youth and popular pro-reform movements called for a major demonstration under the banner of "Popular Legitimacy" to call for tangible reform measures and combatting corruption, while holding steadfast to their decision to boycott the upcoming parliamentary elections, slated to be held on Wednesday, January 23, 2013.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
King meets EU ambassadors
AMMAN (Petra) -- His Majesty King Abdullah II on Wednesday met with ambassadors of the European Union members countries and stressed the need to cement ties with the bloc in various domains, especially in economic and political spheres.
King Abdullah hailed the continued support of the Union to programs and plans Jordan is working to implement in order to achieve reform and sustainable development in all fields.
He also underlined opportunities and prospects available to build on the close partnership and cooperation with EU countries in order to serve common interests of both sides.
His Majesty highlighted a package of comprehensive reforms Jordan has recently carried out, pointing out that the upcoming parliamentary elections, slated for January 23rd, will serve as the foundation stone for the next stage of the political reform process and will strengthen democratic approach. Active parliamentary governments will follow the elections, the King said.
His Majesty stressed that the elections, which will be held under the oversight of the Independent Election Commission, will be conducted according to the highest international standards of integrity and transparency in the presence of international and EU observers.
The meeting also dealt with the developments related to the peace process in the Middle East, where His Majesty stressed that political transitions taking in the region, and the aspirations of its people to live in freedom, dignity and security, no longer allow more delay or failure to reach a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of two-state solution.
King Abdullah stressed the importance of the European role alongside other actors in the international community, in rebuilding mutual confidence between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to return to the negotiating table on the basis of the two-state solution and in accordance with a clear time frame.
Jordan will continue cooperation with all parties to launch direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis to address all final status issues, and lead to the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil on pre-June 1967 lines and with East Jerusalem as its capital living in peace and security alongside Israel.
The meeting also touched on overall developments in the region, where the King reiterated Jordan's support for a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis, a solution that ensures the unity of the Syrian people and territorial integrity and stops the bloodshed.
In this regard, His Majesty commended the EU countries and the European Commission for providing assistance to Syrian refugees in Jordan and for supporting Jordan in its efforts to provide the best humanitarian and medical services for them.
The envoys commended Jordan's reform efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah II and his endeavors to achieve peace and stability in the region.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Jordan’s Abdullah confirms confederation on table
On Dec. 27, 2012, DEBKAfile revealed that aspects of a confederation between
a Palestinian West Bank state and the Hashemite Kingdom were discussed
in Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent conversation with Jordan’s
King Abdullah in Amman, and had become a focal talking point in Amman,
Washington and Palestinian centers.
This was confirmed by King Abdullah in an interview published by the French paper Le Nouvel Observateur Sunday, Jan. 13 when he spoke of resumed peace negotiations on the Palestinian issue starting in Jordan next month after Israel’s elections. New ideas were in discussion between Jordan, France and other European powers, the king said. “We are obliged to show that negotiations produce better results than rockets and air attacks.”
This was confirmed by King Abdullah in an interview published by the French paper Le Nouvel Observateur Sunday, Jan. 13 when he spoke of resumed peace negotiations on the Palestinian issue starting in Jordan next month after Israel’s elections. New ideas were in discussion between Jordan, France and other European powers, the king said. “We are obliged to show that negotiations produce better results than rockets and air attacks.”
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
IDF and Syrian rebel officers meet clandestinely in Jordan
Israeli officials have been holding talks in Jordan with Syrian opposition
officials “in advance of a possible Israeli-U.S. operation in Syria to protect
the Golan Heights,” Western intelligence sources reported Tuesday, Jan. 1. There
was no further information about this operation or how rebel commanders were
involved in military plans “to protect the Golan Heights.”
Altogether, the goings-on on the Israeli and Jordanian borders with Syria are in deep hush. But European intelligence sources, some of them French and Russian, reveal nightly clashes taking place between US, Jordanian, Israeli special forces and Syrian rebels, on the one hand, and Syrian special forces, on the other. debkafile’s military sources disclose what they are fighting for:
1. Each of the four is jockeying both for control of the buffer strips along those borders and for keeping their opposite numbers from establishing intelligence-gathering posts there. US forces, the IDF and the Jordanian army have a major tactical interest in keeping Syrian observation posts from settling in the border sectors, where they would be in position to mark out military and civilian targets if the Syrian conflict spilled over.
2. The Assad regime has two special interests in gaining a foothold in Jordan’s border area.
The first is to block the path of Syrian rebels heading back into the country and joining the various warfronts. At least five military facilities in Jordan are training special units of the Syrian opposition. They are managed by American, British, French, Czech and Polish military instructors. They are imparting tactics for capturing Syrian military chemical weapons caches and combating Syrian units armed with chemical or biological weapons.
Some of the rebel trainees return to Syria when they graduate; others are attached to units standing by in Jordan in case the Syrian conflict slides into hostilities with Israel and Jordan.
The second is back-up for the spy and sabotage networks the Assad government is running in Jordan’s refugee camps – just as they are in Turkey. Jordan houses some 60,000 Syrian refugees, most of them in the big Zaatari camp on the Syrian border. To facilitate communication with its undercover networks and the free passage of information, instructions and funds, Syria needs control over both sides of the common border.
Monday, Jordan imposed a blackout on the capture of four Syrian soldiers in the zone between the two countries. The security spokesman in Amman revealed only that they were unarmed and being interrogated - but not whether they were entering the kingdom or on their way out. Earlier that day, a senior Jordanian military spokesman warned of an attempt to expand the Syrian war into Jordan. He did not attribute the attempt to any party.
Military sources in Moscow are more forthcoming about happenings on Syria’s southern borders. Tuesday, Jan. 1, those sources reported that the Syrian army had repulsed a Syrian rebel assault from Jordan. They added that “Syrian border police had also seized a large pile of weapons, some of them Israeli-made, designated for the Free Syrian Army in the southern city of Deraa.
3. Extensive preparations are secretly afoot by US special forces, the IDF and the Turkish and Jordanian armies ready for President Bashar Assad to hand down the order to his army chiefs to launch a chemical war offensive on the military concentrations of Syrian rebels and their allies in the lands neighboring on Syria. Jordan’s training facilities for rebels are seen as likely to be Assad’s initial targets. Western military sources explain that, for this purpose, the Syrian ruler requires maximum control of Jordan’s borders, including the section abutting the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.
Altogether, the goings-on on the Israeli and Jordanian borders with Syria are in deep hush. But European intelligence sources, some of them French and Russian, reveal nightly clashes taking place between US, Jordanian, Israeli special forces and Syrian rebels, on the one hand, and Syrian special forces, on the other. debkafile’s military sources disclose what they are fighting for:
1. Each of the four is jockeying both for control of the buffer strips along those borders and for keeping their opposite numbers from establishing intelligence-gathering posts there. US forces, the IDF and the Jordanian army have a major tactical interest in keeping Syrian observation posts from settling in the border sectors, where they would be in position to mark out military and civilian targets if the Syrian conflict spilled over.
2. The Assad regime has two special interests in gaining a foothold in Jordan’s border area.
The first is to block the path of Syrian rebels heading back into the country and joining the various warfronts. At least five military facilities in Jordan are training special units of the Syrian opposition. They are managed by American, British, French, Czech and Polish military instructors. They are imparting tactics for capturing Syrian military chemical weapons caches and combating Syrian units armed with chemical or biological weapons.
Some of the rebel trainees return to Syria when they graduate; others are attached to units standing by in Jordan in case the Syrian conflict slides into hostilities with Israel and Jordan.
The second is back-up for the spy and sabotage networks the Assad government is running in Jordan’s refugee camps – just as they are in Turkey. Jordan houses some 60,000 Syrian refugees, most of them in the big Zaatari camp on the Syrian border. To facilitate communication with its undercover networks and the free passage of information, instructions and funds, Syria needs control over both sides of the common border.
Monday, Jordan imposed a blackout on the capture of four Syrian soldiers in the zone between the two countries. The security spokesman in Amman revealed only that they were unarmed and being interrogated - but not whether they were entering the kingdom or on their way out. Earlier that day, a senior Jordanian military spokesman warned of an attempt to expand the Syrian war into Jordan. He did not attribute the attempt to any party.
Military sources in Moscow are more forthcoming about happenings on Syria’s southern borders. Tuesday, Jan. 1, those sources reported that the Syrian army had repulsed a Syrian rebel assault from Jordan. They added that “Syrian border police had also seized a large pile of weapons, some of them Israeli-made, designated for the Free Syrian Army in the southern city of Deraa.
3. Extensive preparations are secretly afoot by US special forces, the IDF and the Turkish and Jordanian armies ready for President Bashar Assad to hand down the order to his army chiefs to launch a chemical war offensive on the military concentrations of Syrian rebels and their allies in the lands neighboring on Syria. Jordan’s training facilities for rebels are seen as likely to be Assad’s initial targets. Western military sources explain that, for this purpose, the Syrian ruler requires maximum control of Jordan’s borders, including the section abutting the Israeli side of the Golan Heights.
The London-based Al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper reported that, when Israel
officials met Syrian opposition commanders in Jordan this week, they asked for
help to locate the remains of Eli Cohen, one of Israel’s most celebrated spies.
He was caught and publicly hanged on May 18, 1965 after an epic career. For
years, Cohen, posing as a wealthy Arab businessman, gained the confidence of
Syrian officials at the highest levels of government and managed to obtain its
secret war and political plans.
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