Amman —

Jordanian officials and observers say the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot Hamas are inciting pro-Hamas demonstrations aimed at destabilizing Jordan, a key Arab ally of the United States.

Protests in Jordan have been largely peaceful since the start of the war in Gaza, but they have become increasingly violent. Many of the demonstrations took place near the Israeli embassy in the capital, Amman.

Some demonstrators are demanding Jordan end its 1994 peace treaty with Israel, while others express anger at Israel because of their personal ties to Gazans who are bombed and starving.

Terrorism analyst Saud Sharafat, a former senior member of Jordan’s intelligence services, believes that some Hamas leaders and Iran want to portray the Jordanian government as “resisting street will.” But he told the United Arab Emirates that Jordanian authorities “have shown skill in maintaining public order while allowing protesters to test the limits of dissent.” Nationwide newspaper.

Recently, several prominent Jordanian government officials and journalists have accused the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot Hamas of inciting people against government authorities. They said it was being done on behalf of Iran and aimed at destabilizing Jordan and expanding the conflict. Jordan has the longest land border with Israel and the majority of its population is Palestinian.

Jordanian analyst Amir Sabaleh told VOA that the Hamas leader specifically targeted Jordan and not other Arab countries in his speech, inciting Jordanians to take to the streets.

He questioned why the protests were continuing even as Jordan’s King Abdullah, who has repeatedly called for a cease-fire and has been at the forefront of delivering humanitarian aid, criticized Israel’s prosecution of the war.

“There is a political purpose behind mobilizing and insisting that it is legal to take to the streets of Jordan because they are Palestinians,” he said. “So if you are originally Palestinian, it does not give you the right to bring chaos to Jordan or introduce a crisis into a stable country with a fragile security situation that has been living with threats from other countries since 2003 Under. Iraq, Syria, terrorism, drugs. We should be concerned about Jordan’s stability.”

Meanwhile, analyst Osama Sharif told VOA that while the Jordanian government may be uncomfortable with the chants and spread of the protests, he believes claims of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas invading Jordan are “exaggerated.” , and there is no actual evidence to prove this. Iran’s intervention.

“There are some ideas on the Internet. A pro-Iran militia claims they can arm 12,000 Jordanians at any time. But when the atmosphere in Jordan is highly tense with what is happening in Gaza, it is difficult to distinguish truth from fiction,” he said. “People are really scared because of a family connection or some relationship, a distant relative, a friend. The king himself has overseen the delivery of aid to Gaza, traveled the world defending the Palestinian cause, calling for ceasefires and warning of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.”

Observers do agree, however, that there is considerable uncertainty.

They say this will continue as the war in Gaza drags on and Israel mobilizes troops along its border with Lebanon in preparation for a possible war with Iran-backed Hezbollah.