Jordan says new cartoons by Charlie Hebdo "irresponsible" act

Jordan's Royal Palace on Thursday condemned the publishing of new cartoons of Prophet Mohammad by French magazine Charlie Hebdo, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

The continued publishing of cartoons that are offensive to Prophet Mohammad harms the feelings of the Muslim communities across the world, it said in a statement.

"This is condemned and an irresponsible act and is not in line with freedom of the press that includes respecting religions and being responsible," the Royal Palace said, adding that responsibility and wisdom, enhancing common values and dialogue are needed at this stage.

King Abdullah II of Jordan was one of several leaders across the world who took part in a recent demonstration in Paris in rejection of terrorism, after gunmen stormed the magazine's offices one week ago and killed 12 victims. The attack is believed to be a revenge on publishing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad in the past.

On Wednesday, Charlie Hebdo's printed its first edition after the attack which included new cartoons of Prophet Mohammad.

With a normal average of 60,000 copies, the paper's print run for this edition was estimated at five million. For the first time, Charlie Hebdo is being printed in Spanish, Arabic, Italian, Turkish and English in a show.

Hailed by westerners as a symbol of freedom of expression, the magazine has been denounced by Muslim leaders for printing new cartoons of Prophet Muhammad, which they said would provoke further hatred. Endit