Excerpts: Several Jordan parties oppose Israel gas.IS captured Jordan pilot
December 28, 2014

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 28 Dec.’14:”Political parties march against gas deal
with Israel”, by Petra

SUBJECT: Several Jordan political parties oppose Israel gas

FULL TEXT:AMMAN — Representatives of several political parties on
Friday[26] urged the government not to sign a gas deal with Israel.

During a march that started from the Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman after
Friday[226 Dec.] prayers, participants urged the government to look for
alternative sources of energy.

They denounced the deal and called on influential political figures to
pressure the Lower House and the government to abandon it.


+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 28 Dec.’14:”Jordanian F-16 was not downed by
IS –army” by Mohammad Ghazal-Agence Free Presse
SUBJECT:IS captured Jordan pilot
FULL TEXT:AMMAN — The Islamic State (IS) did not down a Jordanian F-16
aircraft in Syria, Jordan and the US confirmed over the weekend.

Meanwhile, reactions to pilot Muath Kasasbeh’s capture continued, with the
story grabbing local headlines.

The US and Jordan dismissed claims by the radical group, which said
Wednesday[24 Dec.] it downed the warplane.

The two countries said initial indicators show that the fighter jet, which
went down near Syria’s Raqqa, the de facto capital of IS, also known as
ISIS, or ISIL, was not downed by the group, which captured its pilot
Kasasbeh.

Jordan, along with several Arab and non-Arab states, is part of a US-led
coalition fighting IS which is in control of large swathes of Iraq and
Syria.

“As it is difficult to reach the wreckage of the fighter jet and as the
pilot is not present, it is currently impossible to identify the reason
behind the crash of the warplane,” the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army said in
a statement over the weekend.

“Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the
terrorist organisation is claiming,” the commander of US Central Command,
General Lloyd J. Austin III, who is overseeing all coalition military
operations in Iraq and Syria, said in a statement posted on the command’s
website.

“The Jordanians are highly respected and valued partners and their pilots
and crews have performed exceptionally well over the course of this
campaign,” Austin said.

“We strongly condemn the actions of ISIL which has taken captive the downed
pilot. We will support efforts to ensure his safe recovery, and will not
tolerate ISIL’s attempts to misrepresent or exploit this unfortunate
aircraft crash for their own purposes,” the commander added.

Agence France-Presse on Friday[26 Dec.] quoted sources as saying that
technical failure prompted the pilot to eject after flying at low altitude.

Kasasbeh “was flying at a high altitude to start with. He hit the brick
factory and then disappeared from sight”, said Obada Hussein, a resident
from Raqqa who spoke to AFP via Internet.

“Then the plane flew back, and this time smoke was coming out of it. I
believe there was a technical failure,” Hussein said.

Another activist from the city, Abu Ibrahim, also spoke of a “technical
failure”.

“The plane fell in an area called Hamra Ghannam, in the eastern countryside
of Raqqa,” said Abu Ibrahim, who fled IS persecution in Raqqa but continues
to be well informed on events there.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights gave a similar account.

“Sources in the area saw the plane flying very low. There was a technical
failure. The sources then saw IS members fire heavy machineguns and
shoulder-fired missiles at the plane,” observatory director, Rami Abdel
Rahman, told AFP.

Also over the weekend, the US said it was working closely with the Jordanian
government concerning the captured pilot.

Safi Kasasbeh, Muath’s father, called on IS to treat his son as a “guest”.

“I call on them to release my son. He is a military person who obeys
orders,” the father said over the phone.

Calls for releasing the pilot continued on social media networks with Her
Majesty Queen Rania voicing solidarity with the pilot on her Instagram
account.

Christians in Jordan froze festive activities on Christmas in a gesture of
sympathy with Kasasbeh and his family.

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Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA