The imam’s voice softly echoed through the crowd gathered outside the Grand Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman, as the cool, damp air settled around them in anticipation of the Friday prayer.
In that stillness, a quiet tension built.
As the prayer ended, Jordanian and Palestinian flags were lifted high, proudly waving in the pouring rain, while the powerful rallying cries of the people filled the air.
“My family is in Palestine and Jordan!” a man cried out to the crowd. “They are martyrs!”
These cries did not come out of nowhere; they followed a comment made by US President Donald Trump on 26 January, 2025, when he suggested the US should “clean out” Gaza and send refugees to Jordan and Egypt.
Sparking widespread outrage in Jordan, where a large portion of the population has Palestinian heritage, many have responded.
In reaction to Donald’s statement, both King Abdullah II and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi strongly rejected his words, with Ayman declaring, “Jordan is for Jordanians, and Palestine is for Palestinians.”
Meanwhile, Saja, a Palestinian-Jordanian woman who joined the demonstration outside the mosque during the Friday prayer, said, “I don’t think we’ve ever seen before such bold and transparent statements like the ones Trump made.”
In light of these comments, many protesters also view Donald’s remarks as an attempt to shift Gaza’s crisis onto Jordan, fuelling fears of further displacement and deepening concerns about the country’s stability.
To better understand the different perspectives that have emerged in recent weeks, The New Arab visited the protests to speak with the demonstrators.
Survival of Jordanians tied to survival of Palestinians
As is known, Jordan has a long-standing history of providing refuge to displaced people from neighbouring countries, holding the world’s second-highest share of refugees per capita.
Since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, or the Nakba, the country has been a major host for Palestinian refugees, with waves of displacement continuing through subsequent conflicts.
While the government does not officially distinguish between Jordanian and Palestinian citizens, an estimated 55 to 70 percent of Jordanians identify as Palestinian by origin.
Additionally, 2.4 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), including many second-generation individuals holding Jordanian documents.
As a result, Palestinians have become an integral part of Jordan’s fabric, reshaping its demographics and political landscape.
That said, this integration has at times sparked tensions, particularly regarding the challenge of balancing Jordanian identity with the accommodation of the Palestinian community.
Officials have also emphasised that the Kingdom cannot host more refugees, viewing US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan as a threat not only to the Palestinian cause but also to Jordan’s sovereignty.
“We’ve always spoken out against Zionist aspirations in Jordan, and we’ve been determined to protect our country from these ambitions,” said Hamzah Khader, a member of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
“But now, this is no longer just about preventing something; it’s about stopping something that is becoming a real and dangerous threat,” he added.
Hamzah’s family hails from Bir Ma’in, a village west of Jerusalem, before they were displaced during the Nakba. Since 7 October, 2023, he has been at the forefront of numerous protests throughout Jordan, but the latest demonstration holds special significance for him.
Hamzah noted, “It is not just about solidarity; it’s a matter of national interest,” citing Israeli expansionism, particularly the concept of a ‘Greater Israel’, which some far-right factions support and which threatens both Jordan and Palestine, potentially including the annexation of Jordanian territory.
“Our survival as Jordanians is also tied to the survival of the Palestinian people,” Hamzah added.
This view is shared by Noor*, a protester with a history similar to Hamzah’s.
Born and raised in Jordan, her family fled the West Bank during the Nakba. “We refuse this because they [the Gazans] are on their land,” Noor said. “They [the Israelis] will not take their land, their skies, their air.”
South African solidarity
Amidst the sea of Palestinian and Jordanian flags at the protests, South African flags also stood out, symbolising solidarity.
While holding the flag, Silindiwe Sibanda, a black South African who has lived in Jordan for the past two years, told The New Arab, “I’m representing all of my country.”
“We stand for the Palestinians,” she added firmly.
Having supported the cause since the 1990s, around the time apartheid was dismantled in South Africa, Silindiwe sees a striking parallel between the struggles of her homeland and the Palestinian population.
“There’s a very close link between what happened in South Africa and what the state of Israel is doing to the Palestinians right now,” she continued.
As Silindiwe puts it, this connection between the struggles of South Africa and Palestine became even more significant after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion on 19 July, 2024, declaring Israel responsible for apartheid for the first time.
Impossible to ignore horror in Palestine
Like others, Donald Trump’s recent comments strengthened Silindiwe’s commitment to join the protests in Amman.
“I think it’s impossible to ignore the horror that’s happening in Palestine,” she said. “It’s been like that for a long time, but what’s happened in the last year and a half — it’s truly devastating.”
Speaking about her commitment to the Palestinian cause, Silindiwe explained that it has grown stronger since 7 October.
Saja, another protester, also shared the same views.
Having participated in various protests across the country over the last 15 months, Saja shared with The New Arab that although she has noticed a decline in the number of protesters since the early days of the war, many Jordanians remain committed to the cause.
“Even if we’re not making a difference right now, by speaking up, we’re part of a larger movement,” she said. “We want to be part of something larger than just an individual voice.”
Looking ahead, Saja hopes the situation will not escalate into another wave of Palestinian refugees flooding into Jordan.
“There are so many variables; you can’t be sure how things will end up,” she said. “But based on what we’ve seen so far — how firm and strong the Palestinian resistance is — I don’t think we’ll see that.”
*Noor is a pseudonym chosen by the woman to remain anonymous, while Saja has opted not to disclose her last name. Interviews with Noor and Hamzah Khadr were conducted in Arabic and subsequently translated into English
Francesca Maria Lorenzini is a reporter at The Jordan Times and a recent Columbia Journalism School graduate, where she won the James A. Wechsler Award. Her coverage of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment led to interviews with Al Jazeera, ABC, and TIME, with some of her footage featured in their reports
Follow her on Instagram: @francessmarlo
