Rallies in Jordan support UN bid

The Jordanian Youth and Popular Coalition is preparing for a rally on Friday outside the UN headquarters in Amman to confirm “the right to return...a holy right.” The rally comes as the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, takes his bid to the UN to achieve formal statehood for Palestine. In a press release sent out on Thursday morning, the coalition said that the sit-in will take place simultaneously to meetings on Palestinian statehood which will be held in New York. “We have always supported the right of the Palestinian people to return to their country, which is something that cannot be negotiated or abolished. Even if some Arab governments have given up that right, then our free Arab nation will remain true to its belief that the right of return is a holy right”, the press release said. The Coalition also believes that the Wadi Araba Treaty should be abolished. The Wadi Araba Treaty is the peace treaty that was signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994. Students from the University of Jordan are planning to participate in the sit-in. Mahmoud Al Zoyood, a spokesman for the students said that the sit-in is like a letter directed to Mahmoud Abbas encouraging him not to stand strong against international pressure. The students described Obama’s speech at the UN as disappointing and biased towards Israel. They suggested that the speech was motivated by next year’s US Presidential election. The Coalition is also organising a march on Satuday under the name “We won’t forget our reform demands”, which will begin at the House of Representatives and will move towards the Ministry of Interior.