Jordanians urge Amman to scrap peace treaty with Israel
Protesters rally in sympathy with Palestinians as death toll rises amid outrage over Israel’s Al-Aqsa Mosque clampdown.
Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, calling on the government to scrap its peace treaty with Israel, which they accuse of violations in Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Demonstrations broke out on Friday in several cities after weekly Muslim prayers, with around 5,000 rallying in Amman.
“No Zionist embassy on Jordanian soil,” chanted the demonstrators.
They demanded the cancellation of the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty, carrying signs that said “scrapping the Wadi Araba treaty is the response” to Israeli “violations” against Palestinians in Jerusalem.
“The land is ours, Jerusalem is ours and Allah is with us,” read another banner.
Anti-Israeli protests were also held in the northern cities of Zarqa and Irbid, in Mafraq in the east, Jerash in the northwest and in the southern port of Aqaba.
Jordan has custodian rights over the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, Muslims’ third holiest site.
Over the past two weeks, violence has gripped other parts of Jerusalem, Israel, the occupied West Bank and the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Israeli forces have killed at least 37 Palestinians and wounded hundreds more in clashes. At least seven Israelis have died.
Related: Why Israel wants a religious war over Al-Aqsa
Friday’s protests came as Palestinians called for a “Day of Rage”, and as Jerusalem police barred men under 40 from attending prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Last month King Abdullah II warned that clashes at Al-Aqsa could have “serious consequences” and that any “provocation” in Jerusalem could damage ties between Jordan and Israel.
Amman withdrew its ambassador after clashes last November. On Wednesday, the Jordanian government said it was monitoring developments and that “legal and diplomatic decisions” could be taken in the face of
“Israeli aggression”.