Pro-Hamas riots erupt in Jordan causing inner divisions to resurface

Violent clashes between Jordanian forces and protesters erupted in the past couple of days, including instances of stone-throwing and arson aimed at the country’s security forces.

These confrontations are taking place against the backdrop of the nation’s large anti-Israel protests, many of which included openly pro-Hamas chants.

One of the main promoters and leaders of these demonstrations is the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, a group aligned with Hamas for their shared ideological origins, and active on both the social and the political level, through its party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF).

Following the clashes, several activists of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested, including two prominent members of the IAF’s youth sector, Moataz Al-Harout and Hamza Al-Shaghnoubi.

In a rare statement that implies criticism of the country’s leadership, Secretary-General of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Party Murad Adaileh, denounced the arrests, deeming them “outdated” and adding that they would be “of no use in stopping the Jordanian youth movement which supports the Palestinian people’s jihad and heroic resistance, and rejects Zionist crimes in and state of Arab incompetence.”

One viral picture showed posters carried during a demonstration addressed to the Jordanian army, calling it to heed to the calls of children and women in Gaza, or take vengeance on their enemies and free the land: adding the hashtag: “Where’s the army of al-Karamah?” This is a word meaning both “dignity” and the name of a 1968 battle in which the Jordanian army forced the IDF to retreat from a retaliatory operation on Jordanian soil.

“Flood of allegiance:” a patriotic counter-campaign

The scenes of violent rioters criticizing and targeting national symbols such as the kingdom’s security forces also stirred a wave of patriotism from Jordanians, some of which referred to the violent demonstrations as “marches of sedition.” Others started an online campaign under the hashtag “Flood of allegiance,” referring to Jordanian patriots’ allegiance to the Jordanian monarchy and security forces, and as a critical play on words against the “Flood of al-Aqsa,” the name Hamas chose for its October 7th massacre.

One post featuring this hashtag showed an injured Jordanian police officer receiving treatment in an ambulance, with the user adding furiously: “These are the descendants of those who defended you [meaning: defended the Palestinians] in Bab al-Wad (Gate of the Valley or Sha’ar Hagai in Hebrew) in Jerusalem and the Battle of Karameh. When we see threats and incitement from you to stab security personnel and throw Molotov cocktails... how did we get here? When will we see the red eyes of foundling demonstrators? Are we waiting for the time we start losing the lives of policemen?”

A user named Heba uploaded a video of protesters attacking and throwing stones at Jordanian security forces, adding “this is no popular stance or anything else..  [but] a group of thugs and terrorists who took to the street to take out their hatred on Jordan and the security forces, and we can only say, may Allah break their hands.”

Another user named Dana posted an AI-generated picture showing demonstrators with Palestinian flags burning the streets, alongside the text “don’t burn my homeland for your Palestinian issue,” adding: “If liberating Gaza from the Zionists is a sacred duty, then liberating Jordan from the Palestinians is a national duty... ”

A different user named Rana uploaded a video showing Jordanian General Security forces and a child waving a Jordanian flag, adding: “Strike [the rioters] with an iron fist; the people of the country are with you... Whoever riots or tries to stir up strife... security [forces] await you.”

A user named Faisal referred to the dire situation of Palestinians in other countries, reminding that “… in Syria, Bashar placed them inside the Yarmouk camp and prevented them from leaving after 7:00 p.m. In Yemen, the Houthis slaughtered them; in Lebanon Hezbollah slaughtered them; in Iraq Iranian militias slaughtered them, marginalized them, expelled them, and made their lives difficult. As for Jordan – it received them, naturalized them, hugged them, and rewarded them. And in return, they began to curse at us and our leadership… ”

Another user named Abdullah praised the country’s law enforcement, adding “while security services officers remind their members of their duties, those who call themselves ‘revolutionaries for the sake of Gaza’ burn, destroy, break, curse… The Jordanians go out and protect their country; however, how can someone who does not belong to this land preserve it, [while they’re] based only on a national identity number...!”

Finally, a user named “The Nabatean” uploaded a video from one of the demonstrations, in which protesters shouted, “All of Jordan to Hamas, all of my country to Hamas!” adding: “They chant to hand over your country to the adulterers of the land [meaning Hamas] before your own eyes. This is the price [we pay] for naturalization [of Palestinians].”

The Jordanian-Palestinian conflict

These scenes resurfaced the decades-long conflict between two major groups of Jordanian society: the “original” Jordanian population, which represents according to estimates roughly 20% of the population, and the Palestinians, who are believed by some to represent roughly 60% of the kingdom’s population. Notedly, these two groups also differ in their influence within the country, as the “original” Trans-Jordanians are represented in high-ranking posts across the political, military, diplomatic, and economic fields, while the Palestinian population is reportedly underrepresented in these areas and others.

The past saw many instances of violent clashes between the two populations, including the Black September events of 1970, in which then-young King Hussein ordered the liquidation of Palestinian terrorist organizations who were operating in the country and threatened his rule, with estimates of Palestinians killed ranging between 4000 and even 20000. Other instances included the assassination of Jordan’s founder, King Abdullah I in 1951, and the assassination of then-Jordanian prime minister Wasfi Tal in 1971, both by Palestinians.

Jordan was the only country to historically naturalize and grant citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees and their descendants, though not to all of them. This stands in stark contrast to the situation of Palestinians in other countries, such as Lebanon and Syria, where for generations Palestinians are ordered to remain enclosed in refugee camps, with harsh limitations on freedom of movement and even on their professional occupations. During the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were also deported from Kuwait following generalizing accusations of mass alignment with invader former head of Iraq Saddam Hussein.