96 Jordanian MPs call for cutting ties with Israel

Nearly 100 Jordanian members of parliament have called for a complete end to all diplomatic ties with Israel after its attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem and deadly airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip.

Jordanian media reported that 96 MPs had signed a petition calling on the government sever ties with Israel and expel its ambassador from Amman immediately in response to the Israeli police violence against worshippers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque and threatened expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem.

The petition was presented to Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh.

This followed angry protests in the Jordanian capital Amman held in solidarity with Palestinians. The demonstrators called for the cancellation of Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel. 

Jordan’s foreign ministry on Sunday said that it had summoned Israel's envoy in Amman to protest violence against Palestinian worshippers at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Hundreds of people have been injured at the mosque since Friday, when Israeli troops used rubber bullets and tear gas against Palestinian worshippers who gathered there for Laylat al-Qadr, of the holiest night of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. 

At least 26 people, including nine children were killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip on Monday morning after Hamas and other factions launched rockets towards Israel in response to the attacks on Palestinians in Jerusalem.

On Tuesday morning, two Israelis were killed in the southern town of Ashkelon as a result of rocket attacks from Gaza. 

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected