Jordan's King Opens Parliament: Karak Church Attackers 'Are Not of Us,' Israeli Expansionism Called Region's Greatest Threat
Amman — King Abdullah II of Jordan on November 2 opened the third ordinary session of Jordan's 20th Parliament in Amman and delivered the Speech from the Throne, placing the October 23 gun attack on a church funeral in the southern governorate of Karak at the centre of his address.
He called the attackers 'the terrorists, the khawarej,' saying: 'They are not of us. They have no place among us. They have no place in our great Jordanian family. They betrayed it.' He said Jordan would not be shaken by the attack and would confront terrorism and extremism through national unity and public awareness, backed by the army and the security services. The attack, on mourners at a funeral, killed nine people and wounded dozens, the deadliest assault on Jordan's Christian minority in decades; Jordanian security forces have arrested three suspects.
On regional affairs, Abdullah said Israel's expansionist ambitions remain the greatest threat to the region's future and its hopes, and that there can be neither security nor stability in the region without respect for the right of the Palestinian people to their land. He said the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues, alongside successive assaults in the West Bank and Jerusalem. He also made water security a pillar of national sovereignty, saying Jordan would not allow its people's water to be held hostage by any party.
Related: Follow-Up: Jordan Arrests Three Suspects in Karak Church Attack After Shootout at Abandoned House
Source: Petra News Agency
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世（2025年2月，白宫官方照片）。照片：白宫，经 Wikimedia Commons（公共领域）。 / Photo: King Abdullah II of Jordan (White House official photo, February 2025). Photo by the White House, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
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