Jordan authorities stop pro-Palestine march in Amman

By Leith Juneidi and Mehmet Nuri Ucar

AMMAN

Jordanian security forces in capital Amman dispersed a Friday demonstration held in solidarity with ongoing Palestinian protests along the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel.

Following Friday prayers, Jordanians set out from Amman’s Al-Hussein Mosque intending to march towards the city’s central Al-Nahl Square.

“We’re marching to pay homage to Isra and Mi’raj [the spiritual journey of Prophet Mohammad] and to voice our rejection of [Israel’s] occupation of our holy places,” Saud Abu Mahfuz, a Jordanian lawmaker who took part in the march, told Anadolu Agency.

Demonstrators chanted pro-Palestine slogans, such as “It’s my right to return to Palestine” and “Jerusalem is our capital”.

Before reaching Al-Nahl Square, however, the protesters were persuaded by Jordanian security forces to call off the march.

The Jordanian authorities have yet to provide an official explanation as to why the march was halted.

Of Jordan’s roughly 10-million-strong population, some 70 percent are of Palestinian origin.