Newly appointed Jordanian Prime Minister Hani Fawzi al-Mulki has been described in the pan-Arab media outlet Al Jazeera as having “strong Israeli ties.”
Jordan’s King Abdullah II dissolved his country’s Parliament by royal decree this past Sunday, and accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Abbdullah Ensour. Veteran politician Hani Mulki was appointed to become Jordan’s new prime minister, and charged by King Abdullah to set up new elections in October.
The decree followed a week of protests that followed an extraordinary parliamentary day (May 22) in which Jordanian legislators had voted during a morning session to exclude Israel from the Jordanian Investment Fund, according to Albawaba. But in the evening session, a re-vote was called, and the majority of parliament members instead voted to allow Israeli involvement. The Jordanian monarch dissolved the parliament at the end of the week.
Former senior government aide Husam Abdallah told Al Jazeera on Monday (May 30) that Mulki will most likely be tasked with bringing together Israel and the Palestinian Authority for final status talks.
“Mulki will be working to bring Palestinians and Israelis to the negotiation table and work to bring a final solution to the Palestinian cause which will most likely be at the expense of the Palestinian people,” he said.
The new prime minister previously chaired the Jordanian government committee that has been responsible for negotiations with Israel over the past 20 years.