Hundreds of Jordanians protested in the Jordanian capital of Amman on Friday demanding that the government cancel a natural gas deal with Israel.
Jordanian security forces stopped the protesters from reaching the Al-Nakheel Square, where the demonstration was expected to grow, the AP reported.
Earlier this month, Israel began pumping gas to Jordan from its offshore Leviathan gas field as part of a 15-year, $10 billion dollar deal with Texas-based Noble Energy and Israel’s Delek Group.
Many Jordanians still view Israel as the enemy despite a peace treaty signed between the countries. At least half of Jordan’s population identify as “Palestinian” (Ed: making it a de facto “Palestinian state”).
Murad al-Adayleh, secretary general of Jordan’s Islamic Action Front Party, called on the government, “which has allowed the start of importing the gas,” to step down, according to the report.
The parliament is expected to submit an urgent request on Sunday to ban the purchase of gas from Israel, the AP said.
Anti-Israeli gas rally in Amman on Jan. 4, 2020: