Jordan is home to the world’s largest Palestinian diaspora of more than six million, many of whom have Jordanian citizenship.
Jordan’s team displayed a message of solidarity with Palestinians on the pitch in Doha on Monday as they scored their debut goal against Malaysia at the AFC Asian Cup 2023, where the Jordanian team declared victory with a 4-0 win.
Jordan’s Mahmoud Al-Mardi celebrated his opening goal at the Al Janoub Stadium within the game’s 12th minute, lifting his shirt to show another displaying the slogan: “The cause of the honourable.”
Al-Mardi’s message was referring to the Palestinian cause and came as Gaza continues to live under the Israeli genocide that has surpassed 100 days.
Israel has killed 24,100 Palestinians in Gaza while injuring 60,348 others, a figure that has likely gone up within the past 24 hours as the genocidal war persists.
Other displays of solidarity with Palestine were seen in previous matches in Qatar during the Asian Cup, most notably the Iran versus Palestine game on Sunday. The match saw the Persian Leopards win 4-1 against Palestine’s Fida’i.
The match started with a moment of silence following 100 days of genocide in Gaza, as fans cheering both teams collectively chanted “Free Palestine” as others held up the Palestinian flag and wore the Keffiyeh.
Some of the Palestinian players had lost their friends and families in Gaza. Palestinian striker Mahmoud Wadi had learned that his cousin had been killed in Gaza on Sunday while training in Doha for his match, he told Al Jazeera in an interview.
Largest Palestinian diaspora
The Palestinian cause is at the heart of the Jordanian community, with almost weekly protests taking place across Amman since October 7 against the genocide in Gaza.
Jordan is home to the world’s largest Palestinian diaspora of more than six million, many of whom have Jordanian citizenship.
Many Palestinians had fled to neighbouring Jordan after the 1948 Nakba, or “catastrophe”, where Zionist militia 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 “catastrophe.”
One in five people currently living in Jordan is Palestinian, according to recent data published by the New York Times. More than two million Palestinian refugees are in Jordan.
