AL ARABY (12/2/2020)
Carrying two bundles of flags, Mohammed(*) moves swiftly between hundreds of protesters as chants grow louder in downtown Amman. He holds Jordanian flags on his right hand, and Palestinian flags on his left hand.
It’s been a busy, tumultuous start of the year for the Jordanian-Palestinian flag-seller. Since January, hundreds have braved the cold weather, rain and even sleet to hold protests on a weekly basis.
First, to oppose the Israeli gas that started to be pumped into Jordan earlier this year. Then to protest against US President Donald Trump’s plan for the Middle East, dubbed “the Deal of the Century”, announced on January 28.
“We are against the deal of the century. It doesn’t meet the demands of Palestinian people, it doesn’t meet the rights of refugees and our right of return,” says Mohammad, who has been going to every protest to sell flags, but says he wholeheartedly supports protesters’ demands.
“I am a Palestinian refugee from Jaffa, the bride of the sea,” he adds. Like Mohammad, more than half of Jordan’s population is of Palestinian descent.
Trump’s plan, presented alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without the participation of Palestinians, gave Israel sovereignty over Jerusalem and the right to annex a big part of the West Bank.
Human rights groups have condemned the plan saying it violates international law and further strips Palestinians of their rights. A draft UN resolution stressed the illegality of the annexation of occupied Palestinian territories.