The competent Jordanian security forces carried out a “large number” of raids in locations where the three terrorists, who carried out the “Hamoud Church” operation, were likely present, and this was helped by identifying the abandoned houses in the areas near the Hammoud area. According to the sources.
On Friday afternoon, a terrorist group opened fire with automatic weapons on mourners present in the “Hamoud Church,” at the time of the funeral for the soul of a resident of the village. The incident resulted in the death of 9 citizens and the injury of dozens.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that intelligence and security operations led to limiting the scope of the search and investigation sites, leading to the precise location of the terrorists, after they had holed up in one of the abandoned houses in the village of Jdeidah, to which the perpetrators belonged. They were two brothers and one of their cousins, choosing a place to hide only 5 minutes away from the site of the “Hamoud Church.”
The sources did not answer whether the affiliations of the perpetrators of the terrorist operation were to external takfiri organizations, or whether the operation was isolated from any coordination with external parties and similar to “lone wolf” operations. The sources indicated that the perpetrators of the operation “intended to carry out their plan on Thursday evening, when official celebrations were held near the church site.” When their plan failed that night, their plans shifted towards targeting those praying in the church.”
After raiding the house where the terrorists were holed up, the special raid team found quantities of weapons and equipment, “which it is believed would have been used in other operations by the same group.” Experts in Islamic movements do not rule out that the group has contacts with other local parties inside the country.
Al-Sharq Al-Awsat sources called for “caution before circulating information that would harm the course of the investigation with the perpetrators of the operation who are still undergoing treatment in hospitals, with the head who masterminded the operation entering a coma after a serious injury he received during clashes with the security force,” while the other injured are still under treatment and observation so that investigation can begin with them within a legal process, and they can be referred to the court that has jurisdiction in terrorism cases. “State Security Court (military judiciary).”
Jordanian border areas witnessed remarkable activity in terms of thwarting drug and weapons smuggling operations. Hence, strategic experts call for “linking the nature of the weapons seized on the border with the weapons used by terrorists,” calling for “supporting the efforts of the security and military services with the requirements to confront attempts to tamper with national security, which is being targeted by the neighbourhood, in addition to the burden resulting from protecting the northern and eastern borders from the Jordanian side only.”
Jordanian sources confirmed that the perpetrators of the “Hamoud Church” operation; Those who were arrested at dawn on Monday were holed up in an abandoned house in the village of Jdeidah, adjacent to the village of Hamoud. It is the place where the terrorist attack was carried out, which left 9 dead and dozens of churchgoers injured, as they were participating in a funeral service.
Asharq Al-Awsat sources reported that “the terrorists holed up in an abandoned house for 60 hours, and were able to hide and conceal themselves, as the neighboring residents did not feel any movement in the abandoned house, which is 6 kilometers away from the village of Hammoud.” The same sources said, “The perpetrators of the terrorist attack watched from their fortified position the funeral procession of the bodies of the victims of (Hamoud Church) as it passed.” She added that "the perpetrators were two brothers and one of their cousins."
Informed security sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “investigation operations began early, and estimates indicated the possibility of the presence of terrorists in specific areas. Successively, the search areas were divided into squares, and careful attention was paid to keeping civilians away from the danger of any armed clash with the perpetrators.” This is what actually happened. However, the security plans resulted in securing the citizens near the terrorists’ entrenchment site, without any casualties among the security force or among civilians.”
Regarding the details of the process of arresting the three terrorists, the sources explained that the security operation used drones and remotely piloted “robots,” and that “during which the terrorists opened fire from the roof of the house in which they were holed up at drones to prevent them from determining their location on aerial maps.” In the end, the security services brought robots to the scene of the confrontation to ensure that the targets were hit.
On Sunday, thousands of Jordanians mourned the funeral of 8 of the 9 dead who were killed in the terrorist attack that targeted last Friday those in the “Hamoud Church” in the Karak Governorate in the south of the country, in light of a popular and official presence and an emphasis on the principles of coexistence. The mass funeral came two days after gunmen suspected of being “takfiris” opened fire on churchgoers. As a result, 9 of them were killed and about 25 others were wounded, with the 9 dead being buried on Monday in the “Sahab” cemetery, south of Amman.
Forces affiliated with multiple political currents warn against “the continuation of appeasement policies in neglecting the development of school curricula and keeping them based on traditional teaching methods.” It has no connection to community education, the nature of communication between segments of society, and acceptance and respect for others.” This was after negative comments from social media platform pioneers that called for the intervention of the Cybercrime Unit to prevent sedition and put an end to its perpetrators.
The Jordanian King, King Abdullah II, warned early on, in 2014 during the opening of one of the parliamentary sessions, that “our religious and humanitarian duty is to confront with all determination and force anyone who tries to ignite sectarian or sectarian wars and distort the image of Islam and Muslims.” King Abdullah II pointed out at the time that the war against “these terrorist organizations and this extremist ideology is our war,” and that we must “defend ourselves, Islam, and the values of tolerance and moderation, and fight extremism and terrorism.” He stressed that “everyone who supports this extremist Takfiri ideology or tries to justify it is an enemy of Islam, an enemy of the homeland, and all noble human values,” noting that “these organizations wage their war against Islam and Muslims before anyone else.”
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai’s warning about the increasing sale of lands in Lebanon has brought back Christian concerns that go beyond the transfer of ownership, to the possibility of affecting the demographic composition in a number of regions, in light of war, displacement, and economic hardship. The warnings are accompanied by controversy over real estate purchases in Mount Lebanon, without published evidence proving the existence of an organized plan to bring about demographic change.
During Sunday mass in Aqoura (Jbeil District), Al-Rai called for not rushing to sell lands, or giving them away, saying that they are “memory, roots, identity, and future,” warning that what the Lebanese are losing from them today may not be able to be regained by their children tomorrow. The Lebanese Land Movement spoke about indicators of purchasing apartments, lands, and buildings in Baabdat, the outskirts of Matn, and Keserwan (areas inhabited by a Christian majority), amid questions about the size of the deals and their sources of financing. These data alone are not sufficient to prove the existence of a unified political project behind the purchases.
In addition, a Lebanese church source confirmed that “the warning issued by Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai regarding the sale of lands comes as a result of growing concerns among segments of the Lebanese regarding the demographic changes and social tensions that could result from the sales,” noting that “these concerns have become strongly raised recently, amid increasing calls to raise this issue and talk about it frankly, which explains the timing of the Patriarch’s position.”
The source explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that “the fear of demographic change is a legitimate concern, especially when land sales and purchases take place in exceptional circumstances that Lebanon is going through,” warning that “such moves may create tensions in a country that already suffers from sharp political divisions, and reflect negatively on the relations between its components.”
In turn, a member of the “Strong Republic” bloc, MP Elie Khoury, said that “the warning issued by Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rahi regarding the sale of lands reflects real concerns among the Lebanese about the possibility of widespread demographic changes, in light of the population displacement caused by the war that has been going on for more than two years,” noting that “the main fear is not related to the sales operations themselves, but rather to the possibility of them turning into large housing projects that lead to a mass transfer of residents, and the creation of permanent demographic changes in some areas.” “Regions.”
In this context, on October 15, Representative Razi Al-Hajj submitted a report to the Cassation Public Prosecution to verify the sources of the funds used to purchase real estate in the Northern Matn. The news referred to circulating information about the purchase of more than 83 properties in Baabdat, Mar Moussa, Al-Dawar, Al-Qaqour, and Al-Muhaiditha, demanding verification of the integrity of the transactions and the identity of the actual beneficiaries, without considering this information as proven judicial facts.
Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank has witnessed continuous expansion since 1967 despite international pressure, but its pace has accelerated significantly since the return of Benjamin Netanyahu to power in 2022, who is seeking to win a new term in the legislative elections scheduled for Tuesday. An analysis conducted by Agence France-Presse, based on data issued by the Israeli anti-settlement organization Peace Now, the International Crisis Group, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), shows that nearly half of the Israeli settlement outposts on Palestinian lands, all of which are illegal under international law, have been established since 2023. Taking into account East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and annexed, the organization counts more than 550 settlement sites, about 150 settlements were established with the approval of the Israeli authorities, while the rest were random settlement outposts when they were established.
