Jordanians demand closure of Israeli embassy, cancellation of peace treaty

Jordanians marched on Israel’s embassy, demanding it be closed and that the peace treaty be revoked. 

A few hundred Jordanians protested on Friday in front of Israel’s embassy in Amman following the killing of two Jordanians by an Israeli security guard last Sunday.

Protesters demanded the Israeli embassy be closed and that the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, signed in 1994, be revoked.

Following Friday prayers at a mosque, the protestors marched towards the Israel embassy, waving Palestinian flags and chanting slogans against the Jewish state, including “Death to Israel,” “No embassy for the [Zionist] entity” and “We sacrifice our soul and our blood for the sake of Palestine,” the Jordan Times reported.

One protester, Abu Tariq al Thaher, told the Jordan Times  there should be no Israeli embassy in Jordan, describing Jordanians and Palestinians who have been killed by Israelis as “martyrs.”

University student Raghad Jarwan, praised the Palestinians’ “victory” at the Temple Mount, saying that although they defended the Al Aqsa mosque “unarmed, they stood united, and this contributed to their success.”

“Such events show that the Jordanian people will never ignore these acts and we do not surrender,” she declared.

After a week of Palestinian violence, Israel removed security measures it had recently introduced. The move was perceived as a Palestinian victory and an Israeli retreat.

On Saturday, Jordan’s King Abdullah met with a group of journalists, where he praised the “persistence and determination of Jerusalemites, stressing the unified Jordanian-Palestinian stand in dealing with the crisis.”

“The Palestinian issue and Jerusalem are the first priority for Jordan, which will continue honoring its historical role in protecting the Muslim and Christian holy places in Jerusalem. We carry out our historical, political and legal responsibilities and stand against Judaization of the holy shrines despite the magnitude and the complexity of challenges,” he stated.

As for the Israeli embassy incident, Abdullah reiterated that Jordan will not give up on the rights of Jordanians and that the Kingdom will devote all efforts to “make sure that justice is served.”

Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994, but the agreement remains deeply unpopular in the Kingdom, where many are of Palestinian origin. Jordan and Israel have close security ties, but frequently clash over Israeli policies.

By: World Israel News Staff