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AMMAN — The settlement in Jerash (Gerasa) during the Middle Islamic period was much more extensive and complex than hitherto thought, said a Danish archaeologist.

After a devastating earthquake in 749, Jerash was depopulated and it became resettled only after the 12th century, said Professor Rubina Raja from Aarhus University in a recent e-mail interview with The Jordan Times, adding that it is, however, still unclear how many inhabitants lived in Middle Islamic Jerash (9th century - 15th century).

“The period remains understudied – despite our excavations,” said Raja, who is the co-director of the International Jerash North-West Quarter Project, which since 2011 has conducted excavations on the site of the ancient city of Gerasa.

There are only few publications on Jerash in the Middle Islamic period, said the scholar, adding that in 2018 she and her colleague Achim Lichtenberger from University of Münster edited a book titled “Middle Islamic Jerash: Archaeology and History of an Ayyubid-Mamluk Settlement”.

“What we can say is that there seem to have been several clusters of settlements in Jerash in the Middle Islamic period, but their organisation needs to be studied in more detail. This is something which we hope to be able to do over the coming years of fieldwork,” Lichtenberger told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview.

Raja noted that the northwest quarter of the ancient city displays a set of buildings belonging to the Middle Islamic period, both of representational and pure functional uses.

“It seems as if the conglomerate of buildings were tied to each other and that some were used for living, and others for production and storage — most likely also relating to agricultural activity, which would, among other places, have taken place on the north side of the north-west quarter,” said Lichtenberger.

Turmoil caused by the Crusades and Mongol invasions is characteristic for the Middle Islamic period, he said, adding that it is unknown exactly which political factors led to more extensive settlement in the Jerash after the 12th century.

“However, of course, a more stabilised situation must have been in place in order for the society to construct and resettle more than one part of the site as well as to organise the agricultural activities needed to be more or less self-sufficient,” Raja noted.

AMMAN — The Global Healthcare Travel Forum (GHTF) 2019, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah, is set to kick off from October 26-28.

Organised by the Private Hospitals Association (PHA), in cooperation with the Global Healthcare Travel Council and the Arab Hospitals Federation, the forum seeks to provide medical tourism stakeholders around the world with the opportunity to meet, network and strengthen cooperation in the field, according to a PHA statement.  

President of the Private Hospitals Association Fawzi Hammouri said that more than 700 participants representing commissions specialised in healthcare travel and insurance, along with pharmaceutical manufacturers, will take part in the Middle East and north Africa's largest forum dedicated to healthcare travel.

The two-day event will open up an opportunity to further develop the outcomes of GHTF 2017, one of which was the "Amman Declaration", aimed at expanding the scope of the medical tourism sector in Jordan to eight internationally recognised segments, he added.

Known as Health Travel 8, the segments include traditional medical tourism, dental tourism, wellness tourism, spa tourism, culinary tourism, sport tourism, retirement tourism and accessible tourism.

The Kingdom claims all these sectors, Hammouri pointed out, referring to the advantages of bolstering these fields, among them increased revenues from tourism.

AMMAN — Qatari Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani on Sunday received Jordanian Ambassador to Qatar Zeid Lozi. Sheikh Abdullah congratulated the newly appointed envoy, and wished him success in his new post to support the “distinguished, fraternal ties” between Jordan and Qatar, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

For his part, Lozi voiced his keenness to further bolster Jordanian-Qatari relations in implementation of the directives of both countries’ leaderships.

AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti on Sunday received French Ambassador to Jordan Véronique Vouland-Aneini. Huneiti and the envoy discussed means of enhancing bilateral relations in service of the two countries’ armed forces.

The French military attaché in Amman also attended the meeting, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

AMMAN — Italian Ambassador to Jordan Fabio Cassese on Sunday attended the opening of the Jordanian-Italian Safety and Training Centre, affiliated with the Jordan Engineers Club.

The establishment of the centre was the result of efforts made by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MPWH) in cooperation with Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Italian Safety Council, Ammar Gharaibeh, MPWH's secretary general, said.

The centre will provide safety training for engineers working in the construction sector, he added. The Italian envoy said that the centre is an embodiment of Jordanian-Italian cooperation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Saturday chaired a Cabinet meeting to discuss teachers’ strike after teachers said that their nationwide strike will go on until the government apologises to them for "humiliating treatment" and acknowledges their right to a 50-per cent pay raise.

Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) Spokesperson Nouriddin Nadim said that in addition to teachers’ demand for the raise they say was promised five years ago, a genuine dialogue to end the open strike, now in its third week, hinges on an apology for the way the government handled the sit-in they staged in Amman on September 5, during which, he claimed its members were subject to violations.

Speaking to journalists following a meeting of the association's council members, Nadim also requested that a fact-finding committee be formed to investigate the incidents that surrounded the teachers' protest.

Nadim described the government's proposal to the teachers, submitted on Thursday during a meeting between the two sides, as "vague", stressing that it tackles none of teachers' demands.

The proposal would set a "new model" to improve the living and financial conditions of teachers as well as develop the educational process, the government said.

The spokesperson confirmed that the strike, which started on September 8, will continue, and that "there is no way the JTA and its more than 100,000 members will give up their demands”.

For its part, the government held an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the issue, after which Minister of State for Media Affairs and Government Spokesperson Jumana Ghunaimat told the press that “all dialogue channels are still open and will remain so”, noting that the government’s proposal still stands, and the way to address the situation is through dialogue.

Nadim said that “the problem with any dialogue is that it has to be always initiated by the government”, which, he claimed, has always ignored their repeated calls for dialogue.

“We invited the government for dialogue four times this year; on May 5, June 30, July 28 and during September, and we never received a ‘yes’,” he said.

“The government always showed a stubborn stance, refusing to listen to our demand of a 50-per cent pay raise, rather, focussing on their own demands,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that teachers had to resort to halting work after their demands were ignored by consecutive governments over the past five years.

“We were also pushed to strike by the humiliating treatment protesting teachers received on September 5,” he added.

The open strike was announced after a sit-in in Amman on September 5, during which the JTA claimed violations were committed against its members.

The Public Security Department denied the allegations, but confirmed that 50 teachers were detained during the protest for “illegally forcing their way through to the government’s headquarters on Amman’s Fourth Circle”, which was the location designated by the JTA for the protest.

At the time, the government rejected the set location, allowing the teachers to hold their protest near Parliament in Abdali instead, but teachers were adamant on the original spot, but were blocked from reaching Fourth Circle.

“The ball is totally in the government’s court and students’ interest is in their hands. Apologise to teachers; recognise their demand and we can then sit at the table,” Nadim said.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the international community to take "effective and immediate" action to halt Israeli violations against Palestinians, which threaten international peace and security.

During a UN Security Council session in New York dubbed "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question", Safadi warned that the two-state solution, which has international consensus, is threatened by Israel’s unilateral measures that breach the legislative decisions and escalate regional conflict and violence.

He also reiterated that the clear path to a comprehensive peace, which is Arabs' strategic choice, is through working towards the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security, in adherence to international legislation and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Addressing the gathering, Safadi said that entrenching the occupation would not achieve security or stability, according to a ministry statement.

Settlements, land confiscation, home demolitions and the targetting of the UNRWA cannot bring about peace, he noted, adding that security cannot be achieved by annexing the occupied Golan Heights or annexing the occupied Palestinian territories of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea region.

The UN Security Council plays a main role in enforcing international legitimacy resolutions, including 242, 338, 478 and 2334, as well as ensuring adherence to international law, which recognises all lands under Israeli control since 1967 as occupied lands, stipulating Israel’s respect for its obligations as an occupation force.

Safadi also exhorted the international community and the gathering to reject the announcement made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on annexing what constitutes a third of the occupied West Bank, in violation of international law. 

He also called on the international community to uphold its responsibility and stop any attempts that aim to tamper with the legal and historical status of Jerusalem’s holy sites, drawing attention to the disastrous repercussions of illegal settlements.

The top diplomat stressed the importance of rallying support to the UNRWA to enable it to continue playing its UN-mandated role of providing services for more than 5 million Palestinian refugees. 

Safadi also touched on the Kingdom’s stance on the holy city, noting that “Jerusalem, as reaffirmed by its custodian His Majesty King Abdullah, is sacred to Muslims and Christians, as it is to Jews, and is the key to the region’s peace and stability”.

Urging action to safeguard the holy city, Safadi said that the sovereignty over Jerusalem is Palestinian and custodianship over its holy sites is Hashemite, while protecting the holy city and its identity is a collective responsibility.

While in New York, Safadi on Saturday met with UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov over the latest developments in the Palestinian cause.

Also on Friday, Safadi met with Undersecretary General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov, during which they signed a memorandum of understanding between the Kingdom and the UN’s office on counterterrorism. 

During the meeting, Safadi stressed that the Kingdom will continue working as part of the Global Coalition Against Daesh and through the Aqaba meetings initiative to create a holistic approach to combat terrorism.

AMMAN — Jordan’s public debt increased to JD29.5086 billion by the end of July of this year, constituting 94.4 per cent of the estimated gross domestic product (GDP), in comparison with JD28.3083 billion for the same period in 2018, with the same percentage of estimated GDP, the Finance Ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry has attributed the increase to the debts of the National Electricity Power Company (NEPCO) and the Water Authority, which totalled JD7.4 billion.

According to the Finance Ministry’s monthly bulletin, issued on Saturday, the net public debt at the end of July of this year amounted to JD 28.2493 billion, constituting 90.3 per cent of the estimated GDP, compared with JD26.9006 billion or 89.7 per cent of GDP at the end of July 2018.

The external debt (budget and guaranteed) at the end of July 2019 dropped to reach JD12.505 billion, constituting 40 per cent of the estimated GDP, compared with JD12.088 billion or 40.3 per cent of GDP during the same period last year.

According to the monthly report, debt servicing reached JD85.8 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

As for the public internal debt (general and independent budgets), the amount hit JD15.744 billion for the January- July period, constituting 50.3 per cent of the estimated GDP, in comparison with JD14.318 billion or 49.4 per cent of the GDP in 2018. 

Meanwhile, Finance Ministry figures show that public revenues climbed by JD144.8 million or 3.5 per cent, by the end of July this year, as a result of an increase in both local revenues and foreign grants.

Overall public revenues for January-July period totalled JD4.3362 billion in comparison with JD4.1911 billion during the same period in 2018.

Domestic revenues increased by 130 million at the end of July of this year to reach JD4.1845 billion, compared with JD4.0543 billion last year for the same period of comparison, attributed to the rise in non-tax revenues by some JD177.1 million and the decrease in tax revenues by JD46.8 million.

The ministry figures also showed that expenditures increased by JD225 million to hit JD5.075 billion in comparison with JD4.850 billion in 2018 for the same period of comparison.

The ministry also revealed in its monthly financial developments report that the deficit after external grants amounted to about JD738.8 million, compared to a deficit of about JD658.8 million for the same comparison period in 2018.

The deficit before external grants totalled JD890.5 million, while it was JD795.9 million in 2018’s January-July period.

AMMAN — The European Union (EU), under the direction of the European Commission Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, organised a regional workshop on peste des petits ruminants in Amman last week, which concluded on Thursday. 

Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) is a highly contagious transboundary animal disease that can kill anywhere between 30 and 70 per cent of infected animals and has severe negative socio-economic impacts on the income of livestock farmers and, in particular, the livelihoods and food security of the most vulnerable rural communities, according to a statement issued by the EU on the workshop’s occasion.

Discovered in Côte d’Ivoire in 1942, the disease has since spread at an alarming rate, threatening the very existence of over 80 per cent of the world’s sheep and goat population in more than 70 countries, mostly throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East, the statement added.

The workshop was held in the framework of the 2018 EU decision to support the World Organisation for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, in their joint strategy for control and eradication of PPR, with the goal of eliminating the disease by 2030, according to the statement.

The event was part of the Better Training for Safer Food initiative and marked the end of a series of regional workshops on Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues held all over the world during 2018 and 2019, the statement said.

The training aimed at building the capacity for PPR prevention and control in the region while helping to create the grounds for a more effective cooperation between neighbouring countries, the statement said, adding that around 35 people from countries in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan attended the four-day workshop with most participants senior national officials from competent veterinary authorities involved in the fields covered by the workshop.

The workshop supported the participating countries towards reducing PPR outbreaks, which will subsequently contribute to preventing the disease from spreading further into neighbouring regions, including the EU, which ultimately will lead to better and safer food for both European and Middle-Eastern consumers, the statement concluded.

AMMAN — The Jordan Armed Forces - Arab Army (JAF) and its Russian counterpart on Thursday signed an agreement on technical cooperation in Moscow.

The accord aims to boost cooperation, joint work and exchange of expertise in various military fields between the two countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday.

JAF’s Planning, Organisation and Defence Resources Director Brig. Gen. Hilal Khawaldeh and Deputy Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Aleksey Frolkin signed the agreement.