Through Distorting the Jordanian Uprising: How Arab Media Seeks to Conceal its Collusion with 'Israel'

Since the start of the Jordanian protests rejecting the genocide in Gaza, Arab media outlets have sounded the alarm about the danger of the Islamic resistance movement (Hamas) by invoking the specter of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The protests in Jordan escalated and became daily during the last week of March 2024, rejecting the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

Protesters near the Israeli embassy in Amman call for ending normalization and canceling joint agreements, condemning the "bridge of shame" that connects the Gulf to "Israel" through Jordan, where trucks carrying vegetables and fruits from Dubai ports to Tel Aviv pass through.

'Marketing' the Danger

Jordanian and Arab media outlets, notably from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, left no opportunity to warn of the danger of protests in Jordan, sometimes trying to distort them by linking them to Iran and at other times by invoking the danger of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Jordan's Al-Rai newspaper published an interview with Mohammad Hourani, a leader in the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, Fatah, titled: How did the Muslim Brotherhood exploit the emotional state of the Jordanian street with Palestine?

"The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan is trying to exploit the significant emotional charge in light of the aggression on Gaza to declare its presence and activate its bases in the street, even if it goes beyond the Jordanian state," Hourani said in the interview.

He added, "Protests against aggression can be held without jeopardizing stability in Jordan. We should not mix things up or exploit the scene. There are forces, including the Brotherhood, who know how to plan to do something, but they do not know how to build anything."

The Jordanian newspaper Al-Ghad stated, "What is happening is clear support for Israel and a golden opportunity presented to the Zionist project, and the escalation in Jordan and the desperate attempts to undermine its security and stability play into Tel Aviv's hands.

"Do Hamas leaders realize this, and who benefits from what is happening on the Jordanian scene? The Palestinian cause or Israel?"

As for the Saudi newspaper, Elaph, known for conducting interviews with spokespeople for the Israeli Occupation Forces, wrote a report titled, Has Hamas declared war on Jordan?!

The newspaper claimed that incitement calls from the Hamas movement are increasing inside Jordan amid American reports speaking of the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in that.

It alleged that statements by Hamas leaders calling for Jordanians to join protests "raise questions about the Jordanian street's calculations for Hamas" and that this is "another explicit call from the movement to expand chaos in the region."

Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya channel and the UAE's Sky News Arabia also published several reports and articles attacking Hamas and warning of the danger of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, describing the pro-Gaza demonstrations as chaos.

In a report, Sky News Arabia stated, "Despite the tragedies in Gaza, Hamas seeks greater chaos in the neighborhood, as contexts emerge after Hamas escalated with messages of mobilization and incitement to expand chaos.

"It is clear that Hamas and its allies have moved to Plan B to destroy the region, following the failure of Plan A and its resounding defeat after October 7," according to its claims.

The Starting Point

The protests began following calls for anger following reports of the Israeli Occupation Forces raping Palestinian women from the city of Gaza during its ground invasion.

This coincided with a speech by the head of Hamas's foreign wing, Khaled Mashal, through a video during a women's event in the Jordanian capital, Amman, where he called for millions to sustainably take to the streets.

Mashal said on March 27, "Jordan is a dear country, the closest to Palestine, and it is hoped more than others to play roles for its men and women towards the land of gathering and steadfastness.

"The sustained mobilization of millions for Palestine onto the streets requires organization, motivation, management, and institutionalization."

At the end of his speech, he sent a message to the Jordanians, saying, "O our people in Jordan, beware of retreating, beware of indifference, and do not say that the conflict has lasted too long because it is a conflict imposed on us. This land is our land, and these are our people and our nation, and these are our sanctities."

In parallel with Mashal's speech, large nighttime marches began in the Rabiah area of Amman, which the Jordanian side considered incitement by the movement.

This is despite the fact that the protests began earlier after a testimony from a Palestinian aired on the Qatari Al-Jazeera channel about Palestinian women in Gaza being raped by the Israeli Occupation Forces.

This was followed by a release from the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, at the end of March, broadcasting an audio clip of its leader Mohammed Deif calling on Muslim peoples to march toward Palestine, saying, "Do not let borders, regimes, or restrictions deprive you of the honor of jihad and participating in the liberation of al-Aqsa Mosque."

The recent protests have seen repeated attempts by demonstrators to gather in the streets surrounding the Israeli embassy, which has a heavy security presence.

In turn, the security forces have attacked the demonstrators, dispersed them, fired tear gas, and arrested some of them.

This escalation prompted the official Jordanian position to issue statements against Hamas through government spokesperson Muhannad al-Mubaidin.

The latter said in statements to Sky News Arabia at the end of March that any attempts to incite against the Jordanian state are desperate attempts "to distract us and scatter our focus."

"We hope that Hamas leaders will provide their advice and calls to preserve peace and call for resilience to our people in the Gaza Strip."

He further explained that "Jordan is a country with sovereignty and constitutional references, and its leadership transcends these references. When King Abdullah II is at the forefront of the Arab stance, we do not look at some political adolescents or those who want to gain popularity on the ruins of the devastation that befell Gaza as a result of this catastrophic war.

"There are bankrupt ideologies and populism that want to agitate public opinion by exploiting emotions; there is a failure among the forces attempting to undermine Jordan's position or coerce it into choosing alternative options."

The government spokesperson mentioned that "peace is our strategic choice, and the peace treaty is what enables us to play our role in alleviating the pressures on the people in the West Bank."

Reasons and Goals

Regarding the ongoing media demonization and field escalation against the protesters, Jordanian journalist Khair Eddin al-Jabri said, "Hamas's popularity after October 7 is overwhelming and expanding to the extent that the state persecutes people over trivial matters.

In an interview with Al-Estiklal, said security forces pursue, for example, those who affix pictures of al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Ubaida to their vehicles, imposing fines and confiscating their licenses.

He points out that the Jordanian authorities are perturbed and apprehensive due to the emergence of a certain sense of solidarity and the significant symbolism of the resistance and its leaders within Jordan.

"The awakening of the Jordanian street and its awakening to the Gaza issue will open the door to internal reform movements."

In the same context, he continues, "If the street dares and the scope of protests expands significantly, the protests may turn into other goals and demands that the authorities fear."

The Jordanian journalist downplays the authorities' concerns "because the protesters are clear in their goals, which are ending normalization and stopping the land bridge … Our enemy and our goal is only the Israeli Occupation."

Regarding the escalating media campaign against Hamas, especially by Emirati and Saudi media outlets, al-Jabari said, "The Gulf states are not only interested in attacking the resistance but rather eliminating it completely."

He cited numerous statements and reports confirming that "Arab and Gulf countries have urged Israel to expedite the elimination of Hamas."

He believes that the Gulf countries "see Jordan as an opportune chance to demonize Hamas and the resistance, unfortunately, the official mouthpieces [Jordanian] align with them to destroy any popular incubator for them, especially in Jordan, which shares borders with the occupied land and is a very hot region that fears its movement and has its calculations regarding America."

On his part, writer Ali Saada wondered in an article published by the Jordanian Assabeel website on March 30: "What prompted Dr. Bisher Khasawneh's government to act in such a sudden and intensive manner against some angry slogans about what is happening in the Gaza Strip and in Palestine?

"The protests, marches, and sit-ins have persisted on the streets for 176 days, with slogans remaining unchanged and unaltered. Despite this, the security apparatus diligently monitors and comprehends the evolving dynamics, recognizing that expressions in moments of frustration may be forgiven when borne out of goodwill."

He questioned in disbelief, "So what stirred the government's anger and made it suddenly awaken and discover that there is an 'assault on the sovereignty of the state' and there are chants by individuals and entities that are not Jordanian, and why did it become angry now at the calls by Hamas leaders and al-Qassam Brigades to the Jordanian people to support Gaza while such calls are actually repeated by them?

"Why did it discover that it is incitement against Jordan? And why does it not consider it a kind of optimism and request protection from brethren in religion, blood, neighborhood, and common destiny?! Was the government asleep or unaware, or was it on maternity or childhood leave, then it woke up to this reality?"

He added, "We know some of these protesters who do not like Hamas and cannot tolerate the Muslim Brotherhood or even hear about them, but their anger and resentment towards their brothers and sisters who are being slaughtered every minute in the Gaza Strip aroused their pride and chivalry, so they took to the streets chanting for the resistance.

"When the government wanted to explain its point of view on the slogans and calls of Hamas leaders to Jordanians to support it, its spokesperson resorted to Sky News Arabia, which Jordanians classify alongside Israeli media in its stance towards the resistance.

"The response was never appropriate as the government and its media have aligned themselves with Sky News. This early setback has deprived them of momentum and attention."