UJ students, administration organise march to denounce killing of Palestinian toddler

AMMAN — University of Jordan (UJ) administration staff and students on Sunday organised a march to condemn the killing of Ali Dawabsheh, a Palestinian toddler who died in an arson attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Kafr Duma.

“This is a message from Jordan to the rest of the world to unleash and expose the crimes of the Zionists,” UJ President Ekhleif Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.

The killing of Dawabsheh, according to the president, violates all international laws and is an affront to the dignity of Palestinians on their own land.

Tarawneh added that UJ’s administration, staff and students denounce “the Zionist attack” on the 18-month-old toddler.

“Burning a toddler alive before he can walk his first steps is an indication of an intellectual gap on the part of the Zionists,” he said, urging all Jordanians to expose “the heinous acts against humanity” on social media networks and online news agencies. 

Ahmad Oweidi, UJ’s dean of student affairs, said the march is an act of unity.

“Jordanians today stand next to Palestinians to mourn the 18-month-old toddler,” he noted.

Students stressed the unity between both countries, affirming that Jordanians “will not be silenced”.

According to members from UJ’s Student Union, 5,000 schoolbags will be distributed to underprivileged schools in memory of the slain toddler.

Students read verses from the Koran at the march and performed “prayers for the absent”, communal funeral prayers performed by Muslims for those who die in foreign lands and do not receive a proper burial.