Yesterday, Jordan made history after beating South Korea 2-0, and qualifying for the AFC Asian Cup Final for the first time.

Jordan’s attacking midfielder Mahmoud Al-Mardi told reporters on Tuesday that despite the team’s historic win against the South Korean in the AFC Asian Cup semi-final, their happiness is complete with news of a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Today we were happy, but God willing we will be [happier] with a ceasefire in Gaza,” he told reporters on after the game.

Al-Mardi has been outspoken against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and has shown his support for Palestinians.

When he scored Al-Nashama’s debut goal against Malaysia in the tournament, leading the Jordanian team to a 4-0 victory, Al-Mardi celebrated the goal by lifting his shirt to display the slogan: “The cause of the honourable”, in reference to the liberation of Palestine.

The Palestinian cause is at the heart of the Jordanian community, with almost weekly protests taking place across Amman since October 7 to denounce Israel’s brutal war against the enclave.

Jordan is home to the world’s largest Palestinian diaspora of more than six million, many of whom carry Jordanian citizenship.

Many Palestinians had fled to neighbouring Jordan after the 1948 Nakba, or “Catastrophe”, when Zionist militias forced more than 700,000 Palestinians out of their lands to establish Israel. 

More Palestinians fled to Jordan during the six-day war of 1967, known as the Naksa or “the Setback”.

One in five people currently living in Jordan is Palestinian, according to recent data published by the New York Times.