According to a Lebanese investigative newspaper, Saudi Crown Prince allegedly backed an Israeli plot to collapse the Jordanian King. King Abdullah II, nevertheless, has managed to tame the crisis.
The Al-Akhbar report says the Saudi intervention was to be prized by guardianship of holy sites in the occupied city of Jerusalem Israel.
According to the report, the effort to overthrow King Abdullah II was a “scheme” in which various countries including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were involved.
An official, whose name remained confidential for security reasons, asserted that “the big and complex” coup involved a number of players, but the king was able to peacefully foil it while maintaining the country’s international face safe.
The anonymous source referred to the king’s role in thwarting the hazard asserting that “The king’s vigilance and the rapid movement of the military and security forces have thwarted the coup’s attempt to remove him and replace him with his brother Prince Hamzah Bin Al-Hussein.”
According to the report, Israel intended to dethrone King Abdullah II as a result of Jordan’s opposition to the United States’ Middle East plan, name the “deal of the century.” Jordan believes the deal is a mischievous plot to “find an alternative homeland for the Palestinians and annex the Jordan Valley to Israel.”
Mohammad Bin Salman promised to accept and cooperate in Israel’s plan in exchange for Jordan’s guardianship of the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem being transferred to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has long aspired to boost its influence in the political and religious moves in the region.
Bin Salman accordingly gave former royal court chief the authority to make the required arrangements for the transition of power, while Fatah chief Muhammad Dahlan, ousted in advance, was tasked with organizing Palestinians in Jordan and local tribes. The whole plan was designed with prior US approval.
Riyadh equipped some southern tribes with arms and offered them citizenship in exchange for preparation for carrying out military operations. The local movements, however, was controlled before reaching that violent state as designed by Saudi-Israeli shared plan.
A few days earlier, a former high-rank official revealed some details of American plot, under Trump rule, to overthrow king Abdullah. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani also exposed the role of a regional country in the plot, while making no direct reference to Saudi Arabia.
“What happened recently in the sisterly Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has been planned for a long time by some officials of the previous US administration and one of the countries in the region with the aim of replacing the current regime in Jordan under the leadership of King Abdullah II,” former Qatari prime minister tweeted.
The coup attempt led to backlash against some high-rank members of Jordan’s royal family including Prince Hamza. The king’s half-brother and his sister had contacts with outside actors active in deepening the political and societal turmoil in the country.
During the recent weeks, these parties have called people to anti-corruption protests. The coup attempt was pretexted by the country’s economic situation as a result of Covid-19, which has exacerbated the poor economic condition and unemployment.
Countries across the region have voiced their support for King Abdullah, already known as one of the few leaders bridging the hostile countries in negotiation table. The country has also been an important regional ally for the United States before the coup attempt.
Saudi Arabia’s destructive involvement in neighboring Arab states’ local affairs spiked with military intervention in Yemen and allegedly betraying Palestinians in their fight against occupation. The recent failed plan on Yemen might further complicate the country’s role and influence in the Middle East.
