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AMMAN — Jordanians took to the streets across the Kingdom on Friday to express solidarity with the Palestinian people in Gaza and condemn the violations committed by the Israeli occupation forces against innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip

The participants in the marches called on Arab countries and human rights organisations around the world to intervene and stand against the aggression on the besieged Strip, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

They also urged the international community, the UN Security Council, and relevant international organisations to shoulder their responsibilities to stop the aggression, which constitutes a violation of humanitarian laws and a blatant attack on innocent civilians.

The participants praised the steadfastness of the people of Gaza and Palestine in facing the genocide, condemning the international silence that ignores the ongoing massacres committed by Israel against innocent Palestinian civilians, and the double standards policy in dealing with the Israeli war on Gaza and its consequences.

The participants in the marches praised the role played by Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, in supporting and advocating for the people of Gaza and the West Bank to stop the aggression and prevent Israeli attacks and practices against the Palestinian people, and to defend the Palestinian cause.

AMMAN — High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Friday the attack by Israeli settlers on a Jordanian aid convoy destined for the Gaza Strip.

 “I strongly condemn the attack on the Jordanian convoy delivering aid to Gaza and express my solidarity with Jordan. It is despicable that individuals who are not in need obstruct the delivery of food to those who are. Israel must ensure the safe passage of aid,” he said on X.

The aid convoys, organised by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, in cooperation with Tkiyet Um Ali, the World Food Programme, the UK-based Human Appeal organisation, the South Africa-based Gift of the Givers organisation, and the US-based International Medical Corps, were attacked while en route to the Beit Hanoun and Karam Abu Salem crossings early Wednesday.

One of the convoys was set to enter Gaza via the Karam Abu Salem border crossing, while the other was supposed to enter Gaza via the Beit Hanoun crossing.

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday met with Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot in Amsterdam over efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire, stop the Israeli attack on Rafah, provide adequate aid into the Gaza Strip, and prevent the war from spreading regionally.

Safadi underscored the imperative for a coordinated international response to end the humanitarian crisis, calling for unhindered operations of UN organisations to receive and distribute assistance, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The foreign minister also highlighted the need for collective efforts to establish a just and comprehensive resolution to the conflict, advocating for the two-state solution as the only path to lasting peace and stability.

The two ministers reaffirmed their continued cooperation and consultation in pursuit of a ceasefire, humanitarian relief, and a just and comprehensive peace.

Safadi also commended the Netherlands’ supportive stance towards a two-state solution and underscored the importance of the ongoing cooperation between the two nations in providing humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Safadi and Slot also reviewed the "deep-rooted" relations between Amman and Amsterdam, expressing their mutual aspiration to strengthen ties across various sectors.

AMMAN — The professor of Pantheon-Sorbonne, Francois Villeneuve, has worked for decades in the region and some of his project included the Nabataean sites in Saudi Arabia, at Medina Saleh, as well as the Nabataean, Roman and Byzantine sites of Jordan. One of those sites is located in Dharih, on the Kings Highway, where Villeneuve excavated a Nabataean sanctuary with a team of scholars.

"In the baren landscape of Edom, Khirbet Tannur is a well-known archaeological site," noted Villeneuve last week at the lecture jointly organised by the French institute Ifpo and ICOMOS Jordan, at Bait Yaish, in Jabel Lueibdeh.

Khirbet Tannur was a site excavated during the British mandate, noted Villeneuve, adding that it was a high place sanctuary. The American archaeologist Nelson Glueck excavated Khirbet Tannur in 1937 on the behalf of the American School of Oriental Research but could not complete the report due to his death.

Unfortunately, the site was difficult to protect from looting and vandalism. Also, some decorations from the site ended up at the Cincinnati Museum in the United States.

The Nabataean temple is located on the top of mount Tannur and it is not clear to whom the shrine was dedicated. There are speculations that the temple was dedicated to the fertility goddess Atargatis and Zeus-Hadad, or the Nabataean gods with similar attributes.

"When we started excavating in Dharih, we were told it was a small sanctuary associated with more important sanctuary in Khirbet Tannur. However, it was the opposite, as Khirbet Tannur was associated to more important shrines in Dharih," noted Villeneuve.

The excavation took place in early 1980’s and it was a team work of the French archaeological team and the Yarmouk University in Irbid.

"The sculptures of the pagan gods were destroyed or defaced at the sanctuary by both Christians and Muslims during the Byzantine and early Islamic periods," Villeneuve said.  

The important collection of remaining artefacts from Dharih is placed at the new museum in Tafilah, said the scholar, adding that to restore the sanctuary, the team used services of the local stonecutters and masons.

The 1st century BC is not the best represented in Dharih, although it was the peak of the Nabataean statehood, however, the most prominent temples were built between the 1st century AD and the 3rd century AD, Villeneuve underlined, adding that the Zodiac signs, heads of deities and gorgons, can be seen on the reliefs of the temple.

While no dating is established, the temple went through three different phases: The earliest phase of the temple is usually dated around 8-7 BC, on the account of an inscription engraved on a small stone block while the final phase was dated by Glueck based on the temple's sculptures and architectural principles to about the first quarter of the 2nd century AD. Ceramics, animal bones and charred plant remains have shown that the Nabataeans would come to the shrine to participate in different rituals that included eating and drinking.

AMMAN — This week, youth participants in the Filmi Programme, in collaboration with filmmakers from Ireland and Jordan, joined the filming sessions of their own independent short film titled "An Olive Branch".

With the support of the Irish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Ireland in Jordan, Generations For Peace (GFP), in partnership with Belfast-based Cinemagic, launched the activities for the “Filmi”training programmein July last year, according to a statement for The Jordan Times.

The programme engaged 20 young participants from Jordan, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, and Palestine residing in Jordan and provided them with comprehensive training in various areas of filmmaking presented by film industry professionals. “Filmi” has also provided the opportunity for the participants to select a topic important to them and collaborate as a team to produce their own independent film, which is being filmed this week in Amman.

Ambassador of Ireland to Jordan, Marianne Bolger, commented that “the Embassy of Ireland in Jordan is delighted to support this second iteration of the ‘Filmi’ project. The strength of this programme is the direct involvement of youth in every stage of the creative and production process; fromscript development and storyboarding, to location selection and set design, all the way through to filming and sound production. After such a positive collaboration with GFP and Cinemagic in 2023, I look forward to watching ‘An Olive Branch’ come to fruition.” 

Cinemagic CEO, Joan Burney Keatings MBE said “Cinemagic is proud to continue our work in the Middle East, helping to deliver positive outcomes for young people and contributing to the strategic growth of Cinemagic. The goal of the project was to work with young people, from concept to screen, to inspire them, hear their ideas and develop new skills, which we hope will empower them both in practical filmmaking ability and in confidence.”

Ahmad Albakri, Head of Production at GFP, stated; "We are proud to engage a group of filmmaking enthusiasts and assist them in creatively telling their own stories and presenting the issues that matter to them on global platforms. We are truly impressed by the dedication of the youth and anticipate the final production of'An Olive Branch' movie". He emphasised the role of media productions in providing a platform for youth to voice their opinions and inspire them to lead positive change within their communities, the statement said. 

The “Filmi” training programme included a series of five industry film masterclasses presented by international production managers, screenwriters, and award-winning filmmakers, including screenwriter and filmmaker Ryan Rowe, screenwriter and director screenwriter Marie Campbell, assistant director Terry Bamber, and producer-director Sam Nutt, who is also leading the crew in Jordan.

Thetraining programme covered a wide range of important aspects of film production, equipping the participants with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. From scriptwriting and location scouting to the art of directing. The training aimed at enhancing the participants’ understanding of the entire filmmaking process and hone their skills to create pathways for employment within Jordan’s rapidly growing film industry."An Olive Branch" will tell the story of the determination and resilience of a family affected by displacement who decided to depart from the refugee camp in pursuit of a better future, according to the statement.

AMMAN – Gaza’s journalists have received the highest accolade from the UN agency responsible for promoting peace and security, according to a statement for The Jordan Times. 

At a ceremony during UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day conference, in Chile, Mauricio Weibel, chair of the prizes’ international jury presented honoured them with UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano prize for press freedom, according to a statement from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). 

The award was accepted on behalf of all Gaza’s journalists, by Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate. He said, “The price of conveying the truth in Palestine has become the life of the journalist, and sometimes his or the life of his or her family. All media institutions in Gaza have been destroyed, and foreign journalists have also been excluded from the enclave”, the statement said. 

Making the award, Weibel was quoted in the statement as saying, “As humanity, we have a huge debt to (Palestinian journalists) courage and commitment to freedom of expression”.

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s director general said, “This year, the Prize reminds us of the importance of collective action to ensure that journalists around the world can continue to carry out their essential work to inform and investigate.”

The IFJ nominated its affiliate the PJS for this award; the union will receive a $25,000 prize from UNESCO.

Since 7th October, more than 100 journalists and media workers in Gaza have lost their lives in Israeli attacks – a mortality rate of more than ten per cent. Nearly all the enclave’s 1,000 or so reporters have lost family members, their offices and their homes. Many are now desperately hungry and short of basic necessities, according to IFJ. 

The prize is made in the name of Guillermo Cano the Colombian journalist who was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper El Espectador in Bogotá, Colombia, on 17 December 1986.

New York - Her Majesty Queen Rania has called on the international community to put urgent pressure on Israel to end the collective punishment of the people of Gaza, and to cease its violations against Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

 “When you adopt starvation as a weapon of war that is collective punishment; that is a war crime. When you displace an entire population, that is a war crime,” Her Majesty said. “It's very clear that Israel has no problem targeting civilians, and that they assign very little value to Palestinian life," according to a statement from Office of Her Majesty. 

In an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid in New York on Thursday on her show ‘The ReidOut,’ Queen Rania explained that people in the Arab World and beyond have been “devastated” by the unprecedented human toll of Israel’s war on Gaza, noting that 35,000 Palestinians, 70% of whom are women and children, have been killed, and 1.7 million people have been displaced.

 “As traumatic and devastating as the events of October 7th had been, we can't justify the way that this war is being fought. This is not a normal war. Humanitarian workers who have seen everything have said they've never seen anything like it,” Queen Rania said. “Just to put it in perspective, this war has killed more children in five months than all the conflicts in the world in the past four years.” 

Commenting on the January ruling of the International Court of Justice, which deemed it plausible that Israel is committing acts of genocide against the Palestinians, the Queen noted thatit might take years for the Court to issue its final ruling.

 “We cannot wait. People are being killed today. History is being written today. We're already very late, and the longer we wait, the larger the stain on our global consciousness,” she said.“The fact that we're even debating that should be sending shockwaves in our international community.Who wants to err on the side of a genocide?” 

Her Majesty also highlighted the “dangerous precedent” of the unequal application of international humanitarian law and the subsequent “sense of impunity” among Israeli officials, the statement said.  

 “When international law is broken with no consequence, when UN resolutions are ignored or dismissed, what does it mean? What does it mean when international humanitarian law is applied selectively? Or when certain countries are punished for poor human rights records, while Israel, which is accused of possibly committing genocide is rewarded with more arms? Where's the fairness here?” 

The Queen went on to note that it can be very difficult for others wrap their head around the reality of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation, and having every aspect of their lives policed and controlled. 

”It's about night raids, military incursions, lands being confiscated, children being taken from their beds in the middle of the night…” she said. “Israel is the only country that that prosecutes children in military courts.And then they are subjected to a lot of abuse in the prison system, where they are held under solitary confinement, strip searches, beatings of course, deprived of their medicine, hardly fed... This is the reality of Palestinians.”

The Queen explained that, alongside its war against Gaza, Israel has been taking punitive measures against Palestinians in the West Bank. About 500 Palestinians, including 124 children, have been killed and 8,000have been arrested in the West Bank, Her Majesty said.

 “We've seen the largest land grab in 30 years take place in March – 800 hectares of Palestinian land. Armed settler attacks are at a record high. They're attacking Palestinian homes, burning crops, attacking their solar panels, water tanks, cars… This is happening every day, and it's under full view, if not participation, of the army.”

Queen Rania stressed the importance of achieving a just peace, noting that the pre-war status quo was not sustainable for either Israelis or Palestinians. “That status quo has been broken forever. And it is a status quo that was based on an illegal occupation that fueled fear and insecurity on both sides. It's a status quo that has no political horizons, and therefore made the option of violence more attractive,” she said.

Calling on the international community to “put its weight behind” peace efforts, Her Majesty underscored that both sides of the conflict must be held accountable. “Having a just peace cannot just be about the stronger side implementing its will over the weaker side.” 

 “Palestinians have less resources, they have less influence, they have less leverage, but they don't have less rights,” Her Majesty said. “Disproportionate power should never result in unequal rights.”

The Queen also recalled the advice of her late father-in-law, His Majesty King Hussein, who signed a peace deal with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1994. “He's the one who once said to me, ‘Rania, you always have to put yourself in the other person's shoes.’ I've never forgotten those words. A simple thing to do – but very rarely are people doing that these days. And that is the door to empathy.”

 “All I want is for people to just, for once, try to put themselves in the shoes of Palestinians,” she said.