Dozens of Jordanians launch hunger strike to lift north Gaza siege
At least 60 Jordanian men and women have joined an open hunger strike to demand the lifting of the Israeli siege on the northern Gaza Strip.
The activists seek to pressure the government to get aid into the war-ravaged area and thwart a reported Israeli plan to expel the Palestinian population permanently.
“We demand the closure of Jordanian crossings to goods heading to the Israeli occupation until sufficient medical and humanitarian aid is delivered to the northern Gaza Strip,” Mohammed Awda, one of the strikers, told Middle East Eye.
He added that they want at least 500 aid trucks to enter Jabalia, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun and the Kamal Adwan hospital.
The northern Gaza towns have been under a brutal Israeli blockade and assault for over a month.
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Rights groups have raised fears the offensive is part of a plan to ethnically cleanse north Gaza of Palestinians and turn it into a “closed military zone”.
The hunger strikes started with a few people who protested against the north Gaza siege outside the US embassy in Amman on 1 November.
'We are steadfast and we will not stop the strike until humanitarian aid enters the northern Gaza Strip'
- Hunger striker
It slowly grew with more people joining the movement as the hunger strike garnered attention online.
The participants told MEE they do not represent any ideology or political party, and their only goal is to pressure the Israeli occupation to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Most are striking in their homes, consuming only water and salt.
A number of them have been hospitalised due to the drop in their blood sugar.
Around 12 men who joined the strike are staying together at an apartment in Amman.
“We are steadfast and we will not stop the strike until humanitarian aid enters the northern Gaza Strip,” one of the young men, who didn’t give a name, told MEE.
The strike is part of a campaign titled “Throw your stick,” a reference to Yahya Sinwar’s final moments when he threw a stick at an Israeli drone, an act of perseverance against overwhelming odds, according to the campaign’s organisers.
Government accused of inaction
Meanwhile, the strikers have criticised authorities for ignoring their demands, despite more than a week passing since they started their protest.
They say their health and humanitarian conditions have been neglected, prompting them to stage a sit-in outside the National Council for Human Rights.
A group of strikers attempted to gather inside the headquarters of the Jordanian Professional Associations Complex earlier this week but security forces forced them to leave, threatening them with arrest, several strikers told MEE.
On Thursday, some of the strikers attempted to hand over their demand to Prime Minister Jafar Hassan in his office but were told to come back during working hours, according to Awda.
Azem al-Qaddoumi, head of the Professional Associations' council, said strikers were prevented from staying inside the building due to a lack of prior coordination.
“They are striking on their initiative,” he told MEE.
However, he added that their request to use the facilities is being considered.
Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, Jordan's leaders have had to walk a fine line between heightened anti-Israel sentiment in the country and ensuring its own bilateral relationship with Israel.
The country has a large population descended from Palestinian refugees forced to flee historic Palestine after the mass expulsions, widely known as the Nakba, and regularly sees mass protests in support of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza.
In September, Maher al-Jazi, a former member of the Jordanian armed forces, shot and killed three Israelis near the Allenby Bridge border crossing with the occupied West Bank.
Two Jordanian men, Amer Qawas and Hussam Abu Ghazaleh, carried out a cross-border shooting a month later near the Dead Sea, wounding two Israeli soldiers.
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