Senate head dismisses 'falsehoods' by Egypt Brotherhood deputy leader

Senate President Taher al Masri on Tuesday condemned as "falsehoods" remarks by a senior leader of Egypt's Muslim brotherhood that Jordan and Israel emerged under the patronage of the U.S. and Britain after World War II. "Jordan is a deep-rooted Arab state that emerged by the forearms of its sons and honourable Hashemite leadership and as the blessed fruit of the Great Arab Revolt which was opposed to colonial ambitions and the expansionist Zionist enterprise," Masri said, commenting on the remark by Issam al-Aryan, deputy leader of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, on his Facebook page. "Trying to thrust Jordan alongside Israel in such an allegation is extremely strange and void of logic and honesty as it comes from a Muslim Arab who holds an official leadership position in the Muslim Brotherhood group in sister Egypt. Hence, it is hard to comprehend or accept such a link between an Arab Jordan true to its nation's causes that had offered sacrifices to them throughout history, and Israel, which is occupying Jerusalem and Arab land in Palestine and elsewhere," Masri added. The Senate president said U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to the Middle East at the weekend was from Jordan's perspective an opportunity to emphasise Arab rights in Palestine and to express its categorical rejection of continued occupation and the inevitability of justice in dealing with pan-Arab issues. "The visit has not been a tourist or farewell trip or likewise descriptions which al Aryan has made "in a manner that departs from the principles of Arab fraternity and the spirit of relations between brotherly countries," he said. In his comments, al Aryan said Jordan and Israel are the biggest recipients of U.S. financial aid over 60 tumultuous years in the region's history. Masri said Aryan's talk about U.S. financial, political or security support to Jordan is out of context and seems as if the Kingdom is the only Arab state that receives such aid, noting that Egypt gets much more assistance. "Singling out Jordan in Aryan's comment about aid seems like an accusation, which contravened the de jure of logic and amounts to an unjustified negative attitude towards Jordan which sees Egypt as a sister Arab country and holds its people in respect," he concluded.