Jordan interior, foreign ministers unseated in reshuffle

AMMAN: Jordan’s interior minister was replaced Sunday after criticism following a deadly jihadist attack, in a government reshuffle that saw also saw long-serving foreign minister Nasser Judeh cast aside.
Ten people including a Canadian woman were killed at the popular tourist site of Karak on December 18, in an attack claimed by the Daesh group.
Following the attack, some 50 lawmakers called for a motion to censure interior minister Salama Hammad.
On Sunday Prime Minister Hani Mulqi said Hammad was being replaced by Ghaleb Zohbi, a lawyer who had previously held the same post in 2012.
Zohbi has held several other ministerial portfolios, including justice, and was a member of parliament from 1999 to 2001. He also served as assistant to the head of general security from 2003 to 2007.
Mulqi also announced that Judeh, who had served as foreign minister since 2009, was making way for Ayman Safadi, formerly an adviser to the king and deputy prime minister.
A former journalist, Safadi has a master's degree in international journalism from Baylor University in Texas and has headed the press office at the royal court.
The reshuffle also saw the ministries of education and youth and the state ministries for cabinet and legal affairs change hands, while two ministers resigned.
Omar Al-Razzaz replaced Mohammad Thneibat as minister of education while Haditha Al-Khreisha took over the ministry of youth from Rami Wreikat.
Mamduh Al-Abbadi replaced Fawaz Irsheidat as minister of state for cabinet affairs while Bishr Khasawneh, previously minister of state for foreign affairs, was appointed minister of state for legal affairs.
Mulqi did not give reasons for the reshuffle — the second since September — which was approved by King Abdullah II.
State-run Petra news agency said the new ministers were sworn before the king at the royal palace.

Crusader castles
The attack at Karak, home to one of the region’s largest crusader castles, killed seven policemen and two Jordanian civilians as well as a female Canadian tourist.
Four assailants were killed by the security forces following an hours-long siege after suspects opened fire on police.
Daesh, which has claimed previous attacks in Jordan, said that four “soldiers of the caliphate” used machine guns and hand grenades in the Karak assault.
Jordan is part of the US-led military coalition fighting Daesh in Syria and Iraq and has carried out air strikes targeting the extremist group.
It also hosts coalition troops on its territory.
Two ministers also announced their resignation on Sunday after media reports that the government is planning another tax hike on some basic goods and fuel.
Jordan, which says its meagre resources have been stretched by hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, is facing a public debt of around $35 billion.
Unemployment has jumped to 14 percent of the kingdom’s population of 9.5 million, with the young the worst hit, according to the government. Unofficial estimates puts it as high as 30 percent.
In August, the International Monetary Fund said it had approved a $723 million three-year credit line to support Jordan’s “economic and financial reform program.”