{"id":29064,"date":"2016-10-01T05:09:31","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T05:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/amman-protests-jordan-israel-natural-gas-deal-in\/"},"modified":"2016-10-01T05:09:28","modified_gmt":"2016-10-01T05:09:28","slug":"amman-protests-jordan-israel-natural-gas-deal-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/amman-protests-jordan-israel-natural-gas-deal-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Amman protests: Jordan-Israel natural gas deal in focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

{Rally in Amman follows signing of contract between US firm and Jordanian utility for imports from Leviathan field.}<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Jordanians have taken part in a demonstration in the centre of Amman in protest against a deal signed this week to import natural gas from Israel.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators carried banners on Friday, reading: “No to financing the Zionist entity from the pockets of Jordanian citizens” and “No to gas imports from the Zionist enemy”.<\/p>\n

The protest was called by trade unions and political parties opposed to the 1994 peace treaty between Israel and Jordan, half the population of which is of Palestinian origin.<\/p>\n

“Gas from the Zionists is a disgrace,” the demonstrators chanted.<\/p>\n

A US-led consortium leading the development of Israel’s offshore gas reserves announced the signing on Monday of a deal to sell natural gas from its Leviathan field to Jordan.<\/p>\n

US firm Noble Energy, the lead partner, said the contract with the National Electric Power Company of Jordan (NEPCO) was for 8.5 million cubic metres per day over a 15-year term.<\/p>\n

It includes an option to purchase a further 50 million cubic feet, up to a total of 350 million daily.<\/p>\n

Friday’s protests against the gas deal are likely to put pressure on a government facing multiple domestic challenges, notably in security matters.<\/p>\n

Writer’s killing<\/p>\n

The demonstration in Amman came just a day after King Abdullah II visited the home village of Nahed Hattar to pay condolences to the Christian writer’s family, following his murder on Sunday outside a court.<\/p>\n

Abdullah “strongly condemned this heinous crime” which was “alien to our [Jordanian] culture”, the royal palace said in a statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n

On the visit to the Christian village of Al-Fuhais, 20km northwest of Amman, Abdullah, who was accompanied by Hani al-Malki, the prime minister, said Jordan’s Muslims and minority Christians were united against “extremism, violence and bigotry”.<\/p>\n

Hattar, 56, was shot dead by a bearded assailant on the steps of an Amman court where he was on trial for allegedly insulting Islam with a cartoon he shared on social media.<\/p>\n

Hattar’s family accused the authorities of failing to protect the writer despite warnings that his life had been under threat.<\/p>\n

The assailant, who surrendered to police at the scene, has been charged with premeditated murder, terrorism and possession of an illegal firearm.<\/p>\n

If convicted, the suspect could face the death penalty.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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