Last update - 00:00 19/03/2007
Jordanian parliament slams PM for predicting regime's collapse
By DPA
Jordan's lower house of parliament rebuked Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday for predicting the "collapse" of the Jordanian regime in the case of a premature pullout of United States troops from neighboring Iraq.
The House of Representatives said in a statement it had expressed its "condemnation and extreme indignation over these hostile remarks that reflect ignorance and lacks the minimum of courtesy."
"The Hashemite regime in Jordan, which has not been at any time ever a fragile country or have lacked any of the requirements of a state, will remain a strong homeland and will not be affected by any skepticism or any developments in the region," the house said.
Olmert spoke out strongly against a rapid American exit from Iraq during a live televised address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
Meanwhile, the Islamic Action Front, the country's most influential political party, also condemned Olmert's remarks.
The party's Deputy Secretary General Rahil Gharaibeh urged the government to "reconsider all political and diplomatic ties with the Zionist entity."
"Such statements seek to trigger anarchy by giving the impression that there is a linkage between the continuation of the US occupation forces in Iraq and the stability of the Jordanian system of government," Gharaibeh said.
The party leads a coalition of 14 opposition parties and 16 trade unions in a campaign seeking to derail the normalization of ties with Israel.