Thousands of protesters have rallied in Jordan and Morocco in solidarity with the Palestinians, who have been subjected to a genocidal Israeli war for nearly six months, calling for severing ties with the occupying regime.
Protesters rallied near the Israeli embassy in the Jordanian capital Amman on Thursday for the fifth consecutive day, carrying Palestinian flags and placards reading “Amman-Gaza one destiny.”
Chanting “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land,” the demonstrators called on their government to close the Israeli embassy and cancel the 1994 so-called peace treaty that normalized ties with Tel Aviv.
They also expressed their support for the Palestinian resistance and chanted slogans against Israel and the US.
The protest took place amid a high-security presence that was aimed at curbing the number of protesters.
Dozens of Jordanians were arrested in previous days, trying to reach the Israeli embassy as others were beaten.
While the embassy is currently without a diplomatic mission after Israel’s ambassador left Amman in October and Jordan recalled its ambassador in November in protest at the war on Gaza, protesters have said that the embassy has partially resumed operations.
“Our demands include the complete closure of the Israeli embassy. We have heard that the embassy has partially resumed operations. Additionally, we call for the cessation of the land bridge,” Mohammed al-Abssi told Middle East Eye.
He was referring to reports that the Persian Gulf Arab countries are trucking products to Israel via Jordan to avoid Yemen’s pro-Palestine attacks that target Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea.
Mohammed was one of thousands of Jordanians who have been surrounding the Israeli embassy in Amman for the past few days.
A member of the Ataharrak movement against normalization with Israel, he said the siege of the embassy is part of the angry protests that erupted after the onset of the war in October.
“The siege of the embassy has intensified in response to the blockade of the Shifa complex and al-Aqsa Mosque,” he added.
Israel has been attacking and laying siege to al-Shifa medical complex since March 18, and imposed tightened restrictions on Palestinian worshipers’ access to al-Aqsa Mosque during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Khaled al-Juhani, a member of the National Forum Supporting Resistance, said that even though the Israeli embassy was closed, “this movement still sees it as a symbol of normalization despite the ongoing genocide”.
“The Jordanian people categorically reject normalization and embrace resistance as an option,” he said.
“Today, it is the duty of the Jordanian authorities to begin thinking and acting in a manner that aligns with the aspirations of its people and reconciles with their will.”
In Morocco, people took to the streets of Casablanca, Meknes, and other cities on Thursday, waving Palestinian flags and decrying Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.
They urged an immediate ceasefire as per the UN Security Council resolution adopted earlier this week, and reiterated the demand to cut ties with the Israeli regime.
Morocco, along with the UAE, Bahrain, and Sudan, signed US-brokered normalization agreements with the Israeli regime in 2020, drawing condemnations from Palestinians who slammed the deals as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people.”
Tunisia also saw similar protests in solidarity with Palestinians, with hundreds marching in Sfax and calling for an end to the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
