Zabalawi was standing outside the UJ scientific education faculty waiting for Â?the Scientific Day for Women’s StudiesÂ? to begin, when Â?a man approached the minister and started cursing him then hit him in the face before being brought under control by university guards,Â? an eyewitness said.

The minister was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after sustaining a minor scratch on his lip, the witness said.

When asked by The Jordan Times if he was considering taking legal action against the assailant, Zabalawi answered Â?justice will take its course.Â?

An official source told the press that the suspect was a professor at the University of Sharjah when Zabalawi was president of the university from 1999 to 2003, and his services were terminated during that period.

This is the second attack against a minister in less than five months. [more]