By Laith al-Junaidi
DEAD SEA, Jordan (AA) – Thousands of people on Friday staged rallies in Jordan’s Sweimeh region — near the border with the Israeli-occupied West Bank — to protest Israel’s decades-long occupation.
Demonstrators shouted pro-Palestine slogans, stressing the Palestinians’ right to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were driven in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.
“We will return!” protesters shouted. “We are ready to sacrifice our lives for Palestine!”
Several prominent Jordanian political figures took part in Friday’s rally, including Mohamed al-Zayoud, the head of the Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamic Action Front Party.
Roughly 70 percent of Jordan’s 9.5-million-strong population is of Palestinian origin, according to estimates.
Friday’s demonstration in Sweimeh coincides with ongoing Palestinian rallies along the Gaza Strip’s eastern border with Israel that have remained ongoing since Mar. 30.
Since the border rallies began six weeks ago, at least 48 Palestinian protesters have been killed — and hundreds more injured — by cross-border Israeli army gunfire.
The rallies in Gaza will culminate on May 15 (next Tuesday), which will mark the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment — an event Palestinians refer to as the “Nakba ” or “The Catastrophe “.
