AMMAN: Tens of thousands of Jordanians gathered at Amman’s Marka airport on Thursday to express support for King Abdullah II’s position on Gaza on his return from Washington where he met US President Donald Trump.

King Abdullah met Trump at the White House on Tuesday in a seemingly tense exchange in which the United States president doubled down on a plan to “take over” the Gaza Strip and send its more than two million Palestinian residents to Jordan and Egypt.

The king later released a statement in which he “reiterated Jordan’s steadfast position against the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank”.

Despite the cold and rain, crowds of men, women and children gathered on the airport road all the way to Raghadan Palace stretching for seven kilometres (four miles), with police and royal guards deployed heavily, photographers said.

Many raised placards with messages expressing support for the monarch, including one reading “We are with you”, alongside pictures of Crown Prince Hussein, who had accompanied his father on the trip, in military uniform.

Trump’s proposed plan for Gaza has sparked widespread backlash across the region and beyond, with several Arab countries strongly condemning the prospect of displacing Gaza’s Palestinian residents.

In Amman on Thursday, Jordanians echoed their sovereign’s position, raising signs reading “Jordan is for the Jordanians and Palestine is for the Palestinians” and “No to the displacement of our brothers”.

About half of Jordan’s population of 11 million people is of Palestinian origin, the majority of whom were displaced during the 1948 war that coincided with the creation of Israel and the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Both the king and the crown prince could be seen waving at the crowds from inside their car. Majed al-Faoury, who was standing in the crowd, said “we came from across Jordan to stand behind” the king’s position, “which is non-negotiable”.

“No to settlement, no to displacement, no to an alternative homeland,” added the man in his 50s.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2025