AMMAN — The Palestinian cause is expected to dominate Friday demos with thousands of activists set to converge near Jordan’s borders with the West Bank.
Leftists, Islamists and pro-Palestinian activists from across the Kingdom and around the world are scheduled to gather in the Jordan Valley village of Kufrein, a few kilometres from the River Jordan, as part of the Global March to Jerusalem.
Delegations from India, the US, Sweden and Italy have arrived in Amman to take part in Friday’s march, Rabhi Haloum, Palestinian activist and march organiser, said in a press statement issued on Thursday.
Former premier Ahmed Obeidat, head of the National Front for Reform, will be the headline speaker at the rally, part of a series of “marches” in 80 countries around the world marking the anniversary of Land Day.
While similar marches will be held at the borders of the occupied territories and Lebanon and Egypt, organisers highlight the significance of the Jordan Valley rally, which will be held at the closest geographical point to Jerusalem, some 70 kilometres away from the Holy City.
According to the Public Security Department (PSD), authorities will deploy a large-scale security presence in the Jordan Valley in a bid to ensure the safety of participants and secure the border region.
“We are working with organisers and other security services to ensure the march stays peaceful and does not impact the border region,” PSD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Mohammed Khatib told The Jordan Times.
Organisers stressed that the rally aims to be a peaceful gathering to call for greater efforts to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, dismissing as “baseless” concerns that activists will attempt to infiltrate Israel and the occupied territories.
“All the talk of participants storming the border is part of wider efforts to distract the public from our cause, which is an end to the unjust occupation of Palestine,” said Kathem Ayesh, Muslim Brotherhood shura council member and march organiser.
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