New cable car is a big hit with tourists in Jordan’s northern forest city

New cable car is a big hit with tourists in Jordan’s northern forest city
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The Ajloun Teleferique is the first project of its kind in Jordan. It opened to the public in mid-June and immediately proved incredibly popular with visitors from across the country. (Supplied)
New cable car is a big hit with tourists in Jordan’s northern forest city
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The Ajloun Teleferique is the first project of its kind in Jordan. It opened to the public in mid-June and immediately proved incredibly popular with visitors from across the country. (Supplied)
New cable car is a big hit with tourists in Jordan’s northern forest city
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The Ajloun Teleferique is the first project of its kind in Jordan. It opened to the public in mid-June and immediately proved incredibly popular with visitors from across the country. (Supplied)
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Updated 20 July 2023
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New cable car is a big hit with tourists in Jordan’s northern forest city

New cable car is a big hit with tourists in Jordan’s northern forest city
  • The Ajloun Teleferique, the first project of its kind in Jordan, offers panoramic views of the mountainous forest landscape
  • More than 20,000 people rode in it in the first 10 days and 2,500-3,000 people used it each day during the Eid Al-Adha holiday

AMMAN: Visitors are reportedly flocking in large numbers to the northern city of Ajloun in the highlands of northern Jordan, where a newly opened cable car ride is giving people the chance to experience stunning panoramic views of the mountainous forest landscape.
The Ajloun Teleferique, which was created by royal decree, is the first project of its kind in Jordan. Located about 70 kilometers northwest of Amman, it opened to the public in mid-June and immediately proved incredibly popular with visitors from across the country.
After taking a ride on the cable car with his family, visitor Omar Edajah said: “It was a breathtaking experience. Seeing the green mountains (and) the Ajloun Castle from above is such a splendid and unforgettable experience.”
The 49-year-old said he once rode in a cable car with his wife and four children in Antalya during a visit to Turkiye and had enjoyed the views over the green mountains and Mediterranean Sea.
“But I always said to myself, why don’t we have (a cable car) in Jordan, in Wadi Rum or Ajloun?” he said.
“At last, my dream has come true and now, a one-hour drive from Amman, we can always enjoy such an awesome experience.”
The cable car system covers a distance of 2.5 kilometers in about 10 minutes. It begins in the Eshtafina forest and terminates at Ajloun Castle, 1,250 meters above sea level. The cost of a return journey is 4 Jordanian dinars ($5.64). The total cost of the construction project, which began in 2020 but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, was 11 million dinars.
Arwa Hiyari, the CEO of the Jordan Free and Development Zones Group, which manages the new attraction, said that more than 20,000 people rode in it in the first 10 days after its official inauguration on June 20.
During the Eid Al-Adha holiday at the end of last month, between 2,500 and 3,000 people used it each day, she added.
The Ajloun Teleferique will boost the tourism sector in the area, Hiyari said, and the project had created a number of investment opportunities.
Mohammed Al-Deek, the director of Ajloun Tourism Directorate, said that between 40,000 and 50,000 people visited Ajloun on Wednesday this week, the Islamic New Year holiday, “with the cable car being their first destination.”
He added that number of people coming to the area each weekend to ride on the cable car is having a knock-on effect on bookings at hotels, resorts and other local attractions.
Jorda historically has focused more on the development of infrastructure projects at the southern tourist attractions of Petra, Wadi Rum and Aqaba, collectively known as Jordan’s Golden Triangle, than in the cities of Jerash, Ajloun and Irbid in the north, which is a more verdant part of the mostly desert country and is home to hundreds of ancient Roman and Greek sites.
During a visit in May to Jerash, Jordan’s King Abdullah II called for the development of more tourism projects in the city, which he described as “one of the most beautiful places” he had ever seen.
Jerash, which is about 40 kilometers north of Amman, is considered one of the largest and most well-preserved sites of Greek and Roman architecture outside of Italy.
According to recent data from the Central Bank of Jordan, expenditure by Jordanians on outbound tourism rose by 46.5 percent during the first half of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022, reaching $905.5 million. The bank said that in June alone, expenditure on outbound tourism was about $209 million, a 41 percent increase on June 2022.
The bank data also revealed that tourism revenue reached $3.456 billion during the first six months of this year, a 59.4 percent increase compared with the same period of last year.
Spending by Jordanians on tourism abroad reached $1.467 billion in 2022, an increase of 59.6 percent compared with 2021. Tourism revenue in Jordan increased by 110.5 percent in 2022 to $5.816 billion, according to the bank, exceeding the figure for the 2019 pre-pandemic period by 0.4 percent.
 


UK’s Sunak tells Netanyahu in call of disappointment at new fighting in Gaza

UK’s Sunak tells Netanyahu in call of disappointment at new fighting in Gaza
Updated 17 sec ago
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UK’s Sunak tells Netanyahu in call of disappointment at new fighting in Gaza

UK’s Sunak tells Netanyahu in call of disappointment at new fighting in Gaza
  • Downing Street spokesperson: ‘The PM expressed disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in Gaza, which had allowed hostages to be released’
  • Spokesperson: ‘The leaders discussed urgent efforts to ensure all remaining hostages are safely freed and to allow any remaining British nationals in Gaza to leave’
LONDON: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in Gaza in a call with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, his office said in a readout.
“The Prime Minister spoke to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this afternoon. He expressed disappointment about the breakdown of the pause in fighting in Gaza, which had allowed hostages to be released,” a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“The leaders discussed urgent efforts to ensure all remaining hostages are safely freed and to allow any remaining British nationals in Gaza to leave.”
Sunak’s spokeperson said the British prime minister stressed the need for Israel to take greater care to protect civilians in Gaza and for humanitarian aid to be allowed to enter the Palestinian enclave.
Defense minister Grant Shapps said Britain was considering sending a military
support vessel
to provide medical and humanitarian aid in the Middle East.

Jordan’s King Abdullah says world should condemn any attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians

Jordan’s King Abdullah says world should condemn any attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians
Updated 15 min 3 sec ago
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Jordan’s King Abdullah says world should condemn any attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians

Jordan’s King Abdullah says world should condemn any attempt to forcibly expel Palestinians
  • Talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides focused on the need to increase efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and relief to the embattled civilians living in Gaza
  • King Abdullah told Christodoulides there would be dangerous consequences from any attempt to forcibly push Palestinians en masse from their land

AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah said on Tuesday the world should condemn any attempt by Israel to create conditions that would forcibly displace Palestinians within the war-devastated Gaza Strip or outside its borders.
In remarks carried by state media after a meeting with the Cypriot president in Amman, the monarch again called for an immediate cease-fire and warned that Israel’s relentless bombing campaign was leading to a “dangerous deterioration” in the situation.
Talks with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides focused on the need to increase efforts to deliver humanitarian aid and relief to the embattled civilians living in Gaza.
Abdullah has lobbied Western leaders to pile pressure on Israel to allow an uninterrupted flow of aid and open crossings it controls to bring in sufficient level of aid needed.
Israel now controls the volume and nature of aid entering to over 2.3 million inhabitants under siege, according to UN officials and humanitarian workers.
UNRWA officials say only a trickle of the aid the enclave needs is getting through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt which NGOs and officials say can only handle a fraction of the needs.
Israel started its campaign in retribution for an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas fighters who rampaged through Israeli towns, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages, according to Israel’s tally.
Israeli bombardments have killed nearly 16,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health ministry figures, and driven 80 percent of the population from their homes.
King Abdullah told Christodoulides there would be dangerous consequences from any attempt to forcibly push Palestinians en masse from their land while it maintained security control, officials said.
Officials also fear wider violence in the West Bank, which Jordan borders, as settler attacks on Palestinian civilians, confiscation of land and Israeli military raids mount.
It could create circumstances that could encourage Israel to forcibly push tens of thousands of Palestians across the Jordan River.
Officials say the forcible expulsion of Palestinians would amount to a declaration of war and prompt Jordan to suspend its peace treaty with Israel.
On Tuesday, Amman condemned Israel’s move to build new settlements in Arab East Jerusalem, the part of the contested city that was seized along with the West Bank in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the UN considers occupied territory..
“Israel’s expansion of Jewish settlement building on land it occupied and the confiscation of territory are a flagrant violation of international law” and dimmed any prospects of peace, said Sufain Qudah, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry.


Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials

Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials
Updated 05 December 2023
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Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials

Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials
  • Shoukry will meet Congress foreign policy committee officials with the aim of advancing and strengthening strategic relations
  • Visit will also include talks with a number of American think tanks and research centers

CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to the US on Tuesday to meet House of Representatives and Senate members in Washington.

Shoukry will meet Congress foreign policy committee officials with the aim of advancing and strengthening strategic relations, according to Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid.

The visit will also include talks with a number of American think tanks and research centers, in addition to media engagements, he said.

Abu Zeid said that Shoukry will also join an Arab-Islamic ministerial committee meeting on Dec. 7.

The committee will hold meetings with the US secretary of state, a number of Congress members and the US media in an effort to stop the war in Gaza, in line with the mandate issued by the recent Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit.

Meanwhile, Shoukry affirmed Egypt’s categorical rejection of attempts to force Palestinians out of Gaza.

The foreign minister made the remarks during a phone call with Colombian counterpart Alvaro Leyva.

Shoukry and Leyva discussed the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the necessity of an immediate ceasefire and the opportunity to establish humanitarian truces to bring in aid.


Soldier dies after Israeli forces target Lebanese army center

Soldier dies after Israeli forces target Lebanese army center
Updated 05 December 2023
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Soldier dies after Israeli forces target Lebanese army center

Soldier dies after Israeli forces target Lebanese army center
  • Israeli army targeted a Lebanese army center on Al-Awaida hill, near the border town of Odaisseh, killing a soldier and wounding three others
  • Negative response to Hamas’ appeal for resistance fighters

BEIRUT: Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel have continued their hostilities on the front in southern Lebanon following the end of the truce in the region on Friday.

The Israeli army targeted a Lebanese army center on Al-Awaida hill near the border town of Odaisseh, killing a soldier and wounding three others.

Hezbollah targeted Israeli soldiers at the Ruwaisat Al-Assi site and the Al-Tayhat Triangle, as well as Zabdin in the Shebaa Farms, and Bayyad Blida.

An Israeli drone attacked Lebanese border towns. Artillery was used to target the outskirts of villages and towns, from which most residents had been displaced at the start of military operations.

The Israelis fired flares over the sea coast south of Tyre and over the Blue Line in the western and central sectors. The towns of the Marjayoun district also experienced an Israeli bombardment with heavy artillery shells, flares, and phosphorus bombs causing damage to shops and homes.

Meanwhile, the announcement from Hamas militants in Lebanon of the establishment of “Vanguards of Al-Aqsa Flood” has been met by a negative reaction.

A media report on Tuesday said: “Hamas’ announcement was met with discontent … in southern Lebanon for fear of repeating the 1970s experience of Palestinian armed action from the south.”

Hamas in Lebanon had called on “the brave youth and men (to) join the vanguards of the resistance fighters and participate in the liberation of Jerusalem and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, in affirmation of the role of the Palestinian people, wherever they may be, in resisting the occupation by all available and legitimate means, and in continuation of what the Al-Aqsa flood operation has achieved.”

Gebran Bassil, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement, said on social media: “We absolutely reject Hamas’ announcement.

“We also consider that any armed action launched from Lebanese territory is an assault on national sovereignty. We recall what the Lebanese agreed upon since 1990 in the Taif Agreement — weapons should be taken away from Palestinians inside and outside of the camps — as well as the agreement upon the cancellation of the Cairo Agreement.

“History has taught us not to become a bargaining chip in times of war, when we can impose our conditions on the table in times of negotiations.”

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora was “surprised” by the statement of Hamas in Lebanon, and added: “The mere idea of bringing back Palestinian armed action from Lebanon is unacceptable and rejected.”

Hesham Dibsi, a Palestinian researcher and director at the Tatwir Center for Studies, told Arab News: “The step is an … attempt to popularize the Oct. 7 operation (and) say that the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon’s camps are with Hamas, and this is not true.”

Former Justice Minister Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi said: “Establishing the ‘Vanguards of Al-Aqsa Flood’ in Lebanon is a grave mistake.

“It harms the Palestinian cause for the benefit of the axis of resistance that trades with it.”

Independent MP Mark Daou said: “Lebanon is a state, not an arena, and Hamas has no right to violate Lebanon.

“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, but we will not accept that the cause be used as an excuse to violate Lebanon and organize non-Lebanese armed forces. Hamas leaders must immediately reconsider this step, or we will consider this a hostile act against the Lebanese and a violation of their security.”

Camille Chamoun, the head of the National Liberal Party, said: “The establishment of the ‘Vanguards of Al-Aqsa Flood’ constitutes a danger and a pretext for a new Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon, the destruction of the remaining institutions and infrastructure, and additional tragedies for the Lebanese people.”

Hamas official Ayman Shanaa said in a statement: “We respect the sovereignty of the Lebanese state, and Hamas operates under the umbrella of Lebanese law. Even in resistance actions from the south, we are under the umbrella of the Lebanese resistance.”


Egyptian-Cypriot presidential talks urge Gaza ceasefire, aid push

Egyptian-Cypriot presidential talks urge Gaza ceasefire, aid push
Updated 05 December 2023
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Egyptian-Cypriot presidential talks urge Gaza ceasefire, aid push

Egyptian-Cypriot presidential talks urge Gaza ceasefire, aid push
  • Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides highlighted the requirement for immediate action on Gaza
  • Discussions also centered around ways to further strengthen cooperation between Egypt and Cyprus in several fields, particularly energy

CAIRO: The presidents of Egypt and Cyprus have agreed on the urgent need for the international community to push for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides highlighted the requirement for immediate action during talks at the Ittihadiya Palace in Cairo.

Discussions also centered around ways to further strengthen cooperation between Egypt and Cyprus in several fields, particularly energy, while exploring opportunities to consolidate relations not only between the two countries, but Greece too.

But it was the situation in Gaza that dominated their meeting.

Spokesman for the Egyptian presidency, Ahmed Fahmy, said El-Sisi briefed Christodoulides on Egypt’s efforts to broker a permanent end to fighting in the Gaza Strip while ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians.

Christodoulides noted that his country was keen to work with Egypt on both fronts and El-Sisi pointed out the need for a global consensus on bringing about a two-state solution to the conflict. This, he said, would involve the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Earlier, in a call from Christodoulides to El-Sisi, the latest developments in Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip were reviewed.

The two presidents agreed that international and regional efforts to stop an escalation of the fighting were the top priority.