FOREIGN POLICY (30/11/2023)
Every Friday, the streets of downtown Amman fill with thousands of demonstrators waving Palestinian flags. “The people want the liberation of Palestine,” the crowds chant, their voices echoing across the city.
For more than a month, Jordanians have demonstrated in solidarity with Palestinians against Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip and voiced support for armed resistance against Israel.
Aside from the current seven-day truce, Israel has bombed the besieged enclave since Oct. 7, when Hamas broke through Israeli fences and launched an attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 240 hostages. Israeli attacks from air, sea, and land have killed more than 14,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, and caused major destruction of housing and civilian infrastructure.
“We want an immediate ceasefire!” Jordanian Souad Bakir said at the frontline of a protest on Nov. 10. “The hospitals are being destroyed. All aspects of life are being killed. They want to exterminate Gaza.”
“No fuel, no electricity, no food, no water—and Gaza is the terrorist?” a group of young men draped in Palestinian flags said at a demonstration in October after Israel cut all supplies to Gaza.
As Gaza’s humanitarian crisis grows, so does the rage in Jordan’s streets. In addition to the mass protests every Friday, there have been daily demonstrations near the Israeli Embassy and several protests near Western embassies and in Palestinian refugee camps. Jordanians are decrying not just the relentless bombardment of Gaza, but also their own government’s diplomatic ties with Israel and Western leaders’ unwavering support for Israel (…)
Read more: https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/11/30/jordan-protests-palestinians-gaza-israel-bombardment-war/