Sunday’s deadly terror attack at a Jordanian-Israeli border crossing underscored growing radicalism in the Hashemite Kingdom.
The terrorist, 39-year-old Maher Diab al-Jazi, was a Bedouin from the southern Jordanian region of Husseiniya. A member of the prominent Huitat tribe, al-Jazi’s actions appear tied to the increasing unrest that has plagued Jordan since October 7.
“It is important to understand that on the Jordanian side of the border there is almost no control of the vehicles that enter Israel. So up to the first contact on the Israeli side, one can bring anything here, including arms,” Lt.-Col. (res.) Yaron Bouskila, CEO of the Israel Defense and Security Forum told The Press Service of Israel.
“Jordanians have loosened their control lately to a big extent and basically let the terror thrive. The reason for this is, on the one hand, the need of the Kingdom to survive in the reality where the majority of its citizens are Palestinians, and on the other hand, sincere hatred towards Israel,” Bouskila told TPS-IL.
“We have a peace treaty with Jordan, but it is not really a peace treaty, it is a collaboration based on mutual interests. Jordanians have economic interests, and Israel is interested in having a state we are at peace with between itself and Iran. We still have security collaboration with Jordan, but the situation has worsened dramatically in the last year,” he added.
Al-Jazi shot and killed three Israelis at the Allenby border crossing, near Jericho, after approaching the cargo area in a truck from the Jordanian side. He exited the vehicle during an inspection and began firing at guards who returned fire, killing Al-Jazi. Following the attack, Israel temporarily closed its three other land crossings. Allenby reopened to pedestrian traffic on Monday, remained clsoed to trucks.
The Allenby crossing is primarily used by Palestinian Authority Arabs in Judea and Samaria to travel to Jordan. Israeli travelers use border crossings in Eilat and the northern Jordan Valley.
Jordanian Unrest
Since the start of the Gaza war, a surge of anti-Israel protests has erupted across Jordan, especially in the capital Amman and other major cities. In al-Jazi’s hometown, there have been ongoing demonstrations supporting Hamas. This wave of unrest is not isolated, as similar protests have been taking place across the country, fueling concerns about Jordan’s internal stability.
Jordanian journalists and analysts have pointed to Hamas as the primary influence behind the growing unrest. The terror group has called on the Jordanian public to rise in support of Arabs in Gaza. Khaled Mashal sparked nationwide unrest in April when he urged Jordanians to “mix Arab blood with Palestinian blood,” sending shockwaves through the kingdom, sparking demonstrations and clashes.
That same month, senior Hamas official Musa Abu Marzouk suggested that if Qatar were to expel Hamas, the terror group would relocate to Jordan. This statement was perceived as a direct threat by Jordanian officials, who viewed it as a declaration of war. Abu Marzouk’s rationale was grounded in the fact that many Hamas members hold Jordanian citizenship.
The extended al-Jazi family which Maher was part of has a long history of fighting Israel in previous conflicts dating back to 1948, giving Sunday’s attack additional political and cultural weight.
Politicians affiliated with Jordan’s Islamic movement, particularly the Islamic Action Front (IAF), the country’s largest opposition party, voiced support for the attack. Yanel Farhat, a member of Jordan’s parliament linked to the IAF, praised the attack for encouraging the Jordanian public to take a more active role in confronting Israel.
The IAF, aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, also called the attack “heroic,” urging the Jordanian government to reconsider its diplomatic ties with Israel, including the 1994 peace treaty.
Ordinary Jordanians celebrated the attack with fireworks and distributing sweets.
Manifestations of hostility toward Israel are increasingly common throughout Jordan. Dozens of restaurants named after Hamas military figures and symbolic dates of conflict with Israel have appeared, only to be swiftly shut down by Jordanian authorities.
With approximately 70% of the population of identifying as “Palestinian”, many Jordanians strongly support Hamas. Surveys indicate a rising alignment between the attitudes of Jordanians and “Palestinians”, particularly in their stance toward the Gaza conflict.
Meanwhile, Israel faces increasing pressure from the north and east, as Iranian-backed terror groups in Syria and Iraq smuggle weapons to PA Arabs via Jordan.
