Interior Minister affirms right to protest without disrupting public life

AMMAN — Interior Minister Mazen Faraya on Wednesday stressed the existence of calls to organise marches and protests in the border regions adjacent to Palestine.

During a virtual press conference ahead of the Security Council meeting in Amman, Faraya explained that these areas serve as operational zones for the armed forces, where the rules of engagement are implemented, and are tasked with preventing infiltration to and from the Kingdom's territories. Consequently, marches within these areas have been restricted to ensure the safety of the citizens, he said.

Stressing that certain areas within Amman, such as the Dakhlieh Circle (Interior Ministry Circle) and the Fourth Circle, have a significant impact on public life, he called on the protesters to refrain from entering these key areas.

"I recognise that there is a collective grief over the events in Gaza, and the incident at the Baptist Hospital was a heinous crime that demands accountability, but I urge everyone to exercise restraint and continue to protect public and private property during demonstrations and protests against the aggression on Gaza, he said.

He praised the efforts undertaken by His Majesty King Abdullah since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza.

He noted that the Gaza Strip requires a dual approach from Jordan. The first is an official channel led by His Majesty, which focuses on ending the war in Gaza, preventing the displacement of its residents from their land and facilitating the urgent delivery of medical and humanitarian aid to the territory.

The second approach, according to Faraya, relates to Jordanian citizens expressing their feelings of anger, sadness and frustration over the situation in Gaza, he added, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He stressed that since the beginning of the war, His Majesty has affirmed that "the sky's the limit for freedom of expression, and citizens have the freedom to exercise it daily, especially in light of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, to exert global pressure to end the war in the Strip".