Social media users unite against US’ Jerusalem decision

AMMAN — Jordanian social media users on Tuesday launched a hashtag campaign titled “Annul it”, as a reference to the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli Wadi Araba Peace Treaty currently being discussed at Parliament.

The hashtag, which topped the tweets locally, was launched in response to US President Donald Trump’s decisions announced last week to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move its embassy to the holy city.

The announcement sparked protests and condemnations in Jordan and across the world.

“Jordanians are demanding that the government takes concrete steps against Israel by cancelling the gas deal and peace treaty agreement. People are against ‘peace’ with the settlers’ colony that continues to kill Palestinians and steal their land,” Samar Saeed tweeted.

For her part, activist Randa Naffa urged parliamentarians to “turn their words into action”.

“Our deputies, who pledge to take action on many levels, should immediately take decisive actions including cancelling the ‘shameful’ treaty,” Naffa wrote on her Twitter account.

Ahmad Merie tweeted: “We wish that our government and deputies would listen to the voice of their people just this one time”.

The social media users also called for canceling the gas deal with Israel.

In September 2016, the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) signed a 15-year agreement with Noble Energy, a Houston-based company that holds the largest share in the Israeli Leviathan gas field, to receive natural gas supplies at the cost of $10 billion.

NEPCO officials previously told The Jordan Times that the gas deal with Noble Energy would “save Jordan up to $600 million each year”. 

“Our youth should benefit from this $10 billion, not the Israelis,” Samar Dudin tweeted.

Boycott Divestments and Sanctions Movement (BDS) Jordan has been calling on the Jordanian government and Parliament to annul the gas deal with Israel, stating that “it will  send a strong message to the Israeli-US lobby and the US administration that such a move will not pass without strong consequences for them”.

“The government today is aligned to some extent with the people’s sentiment in the streets in rejecting the US decision to move their embassy to Jerusalem, but that is not enough, and statements alone will not cut it with the public,” BDS activist Jumana Ismael said.

“There needs to be a strong stand by both the government and Parliament to reflect Jordan’s position, and the street is calling for this step to be the annulment of the gas deal,” Ismael told The Jordan Times.