Police clash with Jordanian protesters trying to storm Israeli embassy

Several arrested, riot police fire tear gas at demonstrators angry over Israel’s military operation in Gaza,; some in crowd chant for Hamas to bomb Tel Aviv, kidnap troops

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi 25 March 2024, 6:29 am Edit
Hundreds of demonstrators march on the Israeli embassy in Amman, March 24, 2024 (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the copyright law)
Hundreds of demonstrators march on the Israeli embassy in Amman, March 24, 2024 (X screenshot, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the copyright law)

AMMAN, Jordan (Reuters) — Riot police fired tear gas to push back hundreds of Jordanian demonstrators marching on the Israeli embassy in Amman on Sunday to protest Israel’s military operation in and around Gaza hospitals and mounting civilian deaths in the Strip.

Protesters chanted “No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land,” while others shouted slogans in support of the Hamas terror group.

“We want to go the borders and kill and kidnap Zionist soldiers. Revenge … revenge … Oh Hamas, bomb Tel Aviv,” they yelled.

Authorities initially deployed riot police to disperse demonstrators gathered in the Kaloti mosque in the capital who were planning to march on the heavily fortified Israeli embassy nearby.

Several protesters were beaten and several arrested as they tried to break a heavy police cordon around the embassy, witnesses said.

Police were not immediately available for comment.

The Israeli embassy, where protesters gather daily, has long been a flashpoint of anti-Israel protests at times of turmoil in Gaza and the Palestinian territories. Israeli ambassador Amir Weissbrod has been in Israel since leaving for security reasons in the wake of the October 7 massacre.

The kingdom has witnessed some of the region’s largest peaceful rallies against Israel and the destruction in Gaza.

Jordanian authorities allow protests but say they cannot tolerate any attempt to storm the embassy, instigate civic unrest or try to reach a border crossing with the West Bank or Israel.

They have arrested hundreds of activists and protesters they say have broken the law since war was triggered on October 7 as Hamas terrorists rampaged through southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, most civilians and capturing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled enclave. The figures cannot be independently verified and do not differentiate between combatants and civilians. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 gunmen from Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.

Many of Jordan’s 12 million citizens are of Palestinian origin, they or their parents having been expelled or fled to Jordan in the fighting that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948.

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