Israeli media is reporting that supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan have stated what was described as a massive pro-Hamas rally in the capital Amman. According to the Ynet news report:
Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood
August 9, 2014 More than 15,000 Muslim Brotherhood supporters gathered at a pro-Hamas rally in Jordan’s capital on Friday, with many chanting ‘death to Israel’ and urging the militant Palestinian group to step up rocket salvos against Israeli towns and cities. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The evening rally, the largest such protest in Amman in years, saw scores of masked youths dressed in the uniform of Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, stage a mock military parade to the cheers of a flag-waving crowd.
Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood supporters set fire to a mock Israeli tank during rally in Amman (Photo: Reuters) The Muslim Brotherhood, the ideological counterpart to Hamas and Jordan’s largest political group, is seeking to take advantage of a rise in anti-Israeli sentiment arising from the Jewish state’s month-long offensive in the Gaza Strip. Gaza officials say at least 1,880 Palestinians, many of them civilians, have died in the offensive, which Israel says is aimed at ending Hamas rocket strikes on Israeli territory and rooting out the tunnels the Islamist militant group uses to funnel supplies and launch raids.
Most of the more than 7 million people in Jordan, a staunch US ally, are of Palestinian origin – they or their parents having been expelled or fled to Jordan in the fighting that accompanied the 1948 establishment of Israel. Politicians and analysts say Hamas’s popularity also has soared among non-Palestinian Jordanians as a result of the group’s determined fight against the much-superior Israeli army.
Last month, the GMBDW recommended an Arabic language article titled “Jordan government may shift policy toward Brotherhood” which looked at the possibility of a change in the Kingdom’s stance towards the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan.
In March, the GMBDW recommended an article suggesting that suggesting that the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan was facing an increasingly deteriorating situation.
For a revealing look into internal conflicts within the Jordanian Brotherhood, go here.
For a history of extremism by the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood, go here.
For an analysis of the relationship between the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and the government, go here.
