An Israeli businessman with ties to the United States government was in contact with Jordan’s former Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein when he was placed under house arrest on Saturday and proposed sending a private jet to take his wife and children to the Europe.
The intrigue: The Jordanian government says the Israeli has connections with the spy agency Mossad, while the businessman emphasizes that he is only friends with the prince.
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Why does it matter: The Jordanian government is spreading the narrative that Prince Hamzah and his associates conspired against King Abdullah with people outside Jordan.
Situation: Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said at a news conference on Sunday that a person with connections to a foreign security service approached Prince Hamzah’s wife and offered to arrange for a private jet to escort her and his family. to a foreign country.
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Several hours later, the Jordanian news agency “Ammon”, which is close to Jordan’s security services, published a story stating that a former Mossad and Israeli officer named Roy Shaposhnik was behind the offer.
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Shaposhnik contacted me and gave a statement that denied the Jordanian government’s allegations that he was involved in the alleged coup. He told me he was never a Mossad officer, but confirmed that he proposed to help Prince Hamza and his family as part of their friendship.
What is he saying: “I am an Israeli who lives in Europe. I have never served in any capacity in the Israeli intelligence services,” Shaposhnik told me. “I have no knowledge of the events that took place in Jordan or the people involved. I am a close friend of Prince Hamzah.”
Between the lines: Shaposhnik, 41, had been a political agent for the centrist Kadima party in Israel for 15 years. He served as an adviser to then Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
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He later went to the private sector and worked for the security firm of American businessman Erik Prince. After several years, he founded his own company, RS Logistics Solutions, which served the United States Department of State and other governments around the world.
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Shaposhnik’s company also provided logistical services for Prince’s company while training Iraqi soldiers in Jordan. That was when he met Prince Hamzah through a mutual friend. The couple and their families became close friends.
In the Saturday morning, Prince Hamzah sent a text message to Shaposhnik saying that he had been placed under house arrest.
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A source familiar with the matter told me that Shaposhnik sent Prince Hamzah’s wife a text message immediately and proposed sending a jet to pick her up and the children until the situation was resolved.
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Since then, Shaposhnik has had no contact with Prince Hamzah and his family, who are under house arrest and unable to communicate with the outside world, the source said.
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