Hundreds of protesters gathered in the Jordanian capital for a third night on Tuesday, calling for an end to Israeli rule. Gaza warThere were clashes with baton-wielding riot police before tear gas rained down on them.
Despite frequent protests in Amman, Jordan, during the nearly six months of war, the government has largely succeeded in controlling the situation by staying in tune with public sentiment – harshly criticizing Israel’s war conduct and supporting the Palestinian cause. But this week’s scenes appeared more spontaneous, with larger crowds and more intense anger, sending shockwaves through the country’s powerful security apparatus.
“Jordan’s situation is not enviable,” said former Brigadier General Saud Salafat. General of the Jordanian General Intelligence Service and founder of the Sharafat Center for Globalization and Terrorism Studies.The intense conflict in Gaza and the rise of the Palestinians death tollis testing the country’s “ability to maintain the current pace so that [things] Don’t lose control. “
The Kingdom of Jordan occupies a unique position in the Middle East.It is a long-standing close ally of the United States, receiving more than $1 billion in economic and military aid annually assistance. In 1994, Jordan signed peace agreement with neighboring Israel. But the massive displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war—what Arabs call “ “disaster” Or a disaster—one that forever changed the country’s demographics.
Jordan is home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees, the majority of whom hold Jordanian citizenship.analyst estimate Half of the population is of Palestinian descent. For many here, the war in Gaza is very close, both geographically and emotionally.
Jordanian authorities usually show little tolerance for public demonstrations but have now given the go-ahead for weekly protests after Friday prayers.
“Over time, government agencies seemed to have learned their lesson and started giving space [for people] to ease tensions,” Sharafat said.
However, the government also tried to contain the unrest, intimidating Any crowd gathering or attack near the border area with Israel. In early October, protesters repeatedly tried to reach the country’s border with the West Bank but were blocked by riot police.
That same month, Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said protesters attacked and injured public security personnel, threw Molotov cocktails and damaged public and private property.
Jordanian lawyer representing detainees Tell Human Rights Watch said this month that hundreds of people may be arrested for taking part in protests or online Palestinian propaganda.
“Jordanian authorities are trampling on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly in an effort to suppress Gaza-related radicalism,” said Rama Fakih, the organization’s Middle East director.
The government’s public outreach to war-torn Gaza has also helped contain public anger.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi was one of the first Arab officials to do so explain Israel’s war in Gaza meets the “legal definition of genocide,” a charge Israel calls “outrageous.” In November, he announced eliminate A controversial economic deal with Israel has been struck, under which Jordan will provide energy to its neighbor in exchange for water.
He said such regional projects “will not go ahead” while the war continues Tell Al Jazeera added at the time that Jordan was fully focused on ending Israel’s “retaliatory barbarity” in Gaza.
But Jillian Schwedler, a professor at Hunter College, said there are limits to how far the administration is willing to go by “tying its political and economic vision to the close relationship between the United States and Israel.” . Book About the protests in Jordan. She added that the connections were “not easy to unravel.”
After a meeting at the White House last month, Jordan’s King Abdullah was blunt: “We cannot stand by and let this continue,” he said explainand President Biden beside him. “We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end.”
Over the next six weeks, multiple rounds of shuttle diplomacy Efforts by U.S., Arab and Israeli officials have failed to achieve even a temporary ceasefire.
As public discontent grows, Jordan’s security apparatus becomes jittery. unemployment More than 22% last year; many young people are unemployed. There are fears that the Muslim Brotherhood, a long-suppressed opposition group and Hamas ally, is playing a role in the protests in the hope of gaining support ahead of August elections.
On Tuesday night, some protesters chanted “We are your people, Sinwar,” referring to Yehiya Sinwar. Hamas leader who planned it Attack of October 7 About Israel and the Remains at large In Gaza.
On Saturday, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Announce The Israeli embassy in Tel Aviv is following reports in Israeli media that two armed men were detained near the West Bank village of Fasayil after they allegedly crossed the Jordanian border.
Sharafat said the alarm among government policymakers was evident. He said the regular deployment of riot police was a financial drain on Jordan’s small and struggling economy. He added that the police themselves, many of whom are also Palestinian, face an emotional burden. Their evenings now clash with protesters after fasting from sunrise to sunset during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
As the war drags on, demonstrators have become bolder: after the cancellation of the water-for-energy agreement, public calls grew louder for the abolition of Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel.Israeli troops now threaten invasion RafaSalafat said that in Palestine, home to some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians, public pressure will only increase.
“Jordan’s current position is in crisis… and it is considering how to deal with the next phase, how to deal with the protests,” he said. “The government’s room for maneuver is very tight.”
Schwedler said she expected “more of the same” — “strong condemnation of Israel, temporary tensions in formal diplomatic relations, but little change in policy or relations with Israel.”