Citizens stage a sit-in in front of the Jordan Valley Authority building to demand the expulsion of an association accused of normalization (Al Jazeera)

Amman -

With the continuation of the aggression on the Gaza Strip for the fifth month in a row, movements have escalated in Jordan to demand the cessation of the work of any institutions linked to a relationship with the Israeli occupation on Jordanian territory.

This comes in light of what activists and civil society organizations considered “a continuation of the war of genocide and an approaching danger that directly affects the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, its security and its resources,” according to the “Jordan Boycott” movement.

Recently, demands are focused on stopping the leasing of the Jordan Environmental Park (EcoPark) in the northern Jordan Valley to the “Earth and Environment Protection Foundation/formerly Friends of the Earth,” which is believed to be affiliated with the “Ecopeace” normalization organization linked to the Israeli occupation.

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🚩Many male and female citizens submitted complaints to the Jordan Valley Authority by placing protest and demand letters in the complaints box located at the authority’s headquarters in Shmeisani regarding the normalization scandals related to the Jordan Environmental Park and the truth about the entity that manages it.

🧵⬇️1/4#Boycott_the_ecopark#expel_the_ecopark pic.twitter.com/YGRgstm98K

- Jordan BDS (@BDSJordan) February 22, 2024

Shmeisani about the normalization scandals related to the Jordan Environmental Park and the truth about the party that manages it

🧵⬇️1/4#Boycott_the_ecopark#expel_the_ecopark pic.twitter.com/YGRgstm98K

- Jordan BDS (@BDSJordan) February 22, 2024

Moves escalate

Last Sunday, dozens of citizens went to the headquarters of the Jordan Valley Authority, where they sent dozens of complaints demanding that the park’s lease contract not be renewed to the association.

This contract adds another 5 years to the management of the park by the association, which they accuse of being linked to the Israeli occupation and promoting normalization.

Member of the "Jordan Boycott" movement, Fatima Al-Zaben, says that, in partnership with parties and institutions, they are stressing the necessity of not renewing the lease contract, which will expire in mid-next March.

The movement demands that the association be replaced by a Jordanian national employer that adheres to boycott standards and rejects normalization, "which leads to mortgaging Jordanian sovereignty and resources to the occupation."

A protest was held in front of the Jordan Valley Authority building in the capital, Amman, raising slogans demanding the expulsion of the EcoPeace organization from Jordan.

Activist Enas Hujair said in her interview with Al Jazeera Net, “This event comes as part of a campaign that will continue to demand that the management of the park be handed over to a national Jordanian operator,” and the hashtag “Expel the Ecobus” was active on social media.

Jordanians escalate against an environmental association, accusing it of normalization (Al Jazeera)

Jordan Environmental Park

The Jordan Environmental Park was previously known as Sharhabeel Bin Hasna Park, and it is a natural reserve in the Jordan Valley region in the north of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is located on a vast area of ​​about 100 dunums (one thousand dunams), which includes the Ziglab Dam, and is managed by the Society for the Protection of Land and Environment, according to government data.

The Jordan Valley Authority confirms that it leases the land to a local association registered with the Ministry of Social Development, and denies the existence of any contracts or agreements between it and the EcoPeace organization.

On the other hand, a statement signed by more than 50 local organizations - including parties, civil society organizations and environmental initiatives - confirms that the Society for the Protection of Land and Environment is affiliated with the “Ecopeace” normalization organization linked to the Israeli occupation.

According to the lease contract, the association pays about 6,500 Jordanian dinars annually in exchange for renting these lands.

Al Jazeera Net's attempts to obtain the position of the Jordan Valley Authority regarding the protest movements demanding not to renew the lease were unsuccessful.

What is the story of Ecopark and EcoPlace in Jordan in brief?


A dangerous Zionist environmental infiltration into the Jordanian Valley

In a park next to the Wadi Ziqlab Dam (Sharhabeel Bin Hasna), which is very beautiful. It is called the Jordan Environmental Park and its name is Ecopark. Its area is 110 dunams. It is owned by the Jordanian government through the Jordan Valley Authority pic.twitter.com/IUmei7wGyB

- Khaled Al-Natour (@khalidnatour) February 21, 2024

Relationship with EcoPeace

In a joint statement by about 50 Jordanian parties and institutions titled “Return the Jordan Environmental Park to our national incubator,” the signatories stressed that the person running the park is the “Ecopeace Middle East” organization, which is accused of being linked to the occupation.

They said that the people who represented the association in signing the park lease contract were the former president and current president of the Jordanian branch of the EcoPeace organization, which is proven by the organization’s official website.

They warned against activities that they said "may lead to attempts to overthrow Jordanian youth under the umbrella of environmental coexistence."

After repeated attempts by Al Jazeera Net to contact the management of the Society for the Protection of Earth and Environment to ask it about the accusations against it, the response came by apologizing for the comment at the present time.

The association announces on its platforms that it is a local association concerned with managing the park and spreading environmental awareness, and that all its employees are Jordanians from the region.

In turn, Director General of the Arab Organization for the Conservation of Nature, Maryam Geagea, believes that the “Ecopeace” project is essentially an environmental normalization project, and falls under the concept of “greenwashing.”

She adds that other normalization projects in Jordan aim to "polish the image of the Zionist entity under the pretext of peace," even though it is the largest cause of environmental and agricultural violations.

She stresses that the danger of these projects lies in the fact that they do not address the root causes of these violations, but rather work to sustain them and accept them as a fait accompli, “as the interests of the Zionist entity will remain the first reference for any joint projects.”

She concludes by saying, "In light of the genocide carried out by the occupation in Gaza, these projects cannot convince the Jordanian and Arab streets of the feasibility of normalization, and this is our opportunity to regain our management of the park and turn it into a purely Jordanian national project without the need for these suspicious relations."

Imagine that in a contract granting the Jordan Environmental Park in the northern Jordan Valley to a Zionist organization (Ecopeace)!!

They participated in the sit-in to demand an end to the influence of the Jordanian branch of the Zionist EcoPeace organization in the Jordan Valley. The Jordanian Food Basket

Tuesday 2-20-2024


at 1:00 pm #Expel_the_ecobus #Liberate_the_Jordan_Value pic.twitter.com/aZH4JHfIue

- Sameer Mashhour 🇯🇴🇵🇸 (@sameermashhour) February 19, 2024

EcoPeace plans

The EcoPeace organization played a major role in the “Water for Energy” agreement, which Jordan signed a declaration of intent with the occupation government to implement, before later announcing that it would not proceed with it under pressure from popular demands.

The "Jordan Boycott" movement describes the organization as "the godmother and architect" of the proposal it presented under the title "Green Prosperity versus Blue Prosperity."

The British newspaper "The Guardian" reported that the "EcoPeace" organization pushed for the completion of this project "because Jordan's access to large areas of land and sunlight means that it can sell electricity to Israel at a cheaper price than it can produce it."

The newspaper quoted the organization's director, Gideon Bromberg, as calling for a "green agreement" in the Middle East, noting that the organization shared a letter from the Israeli Minister of Energy in which he expressed his support for the transfer of energy from Jordan with the Jordanian government in the hope of reaching an agreement.

Hamza Khader, a member of the National Forum for Supporting the Resistance in Jordan, says that this comes as part of a policy practiced by the organization by presenting the occupation as a partner in what it calls “water diplomacy,” and in complete disregard of the occupation’s ongoing theft of natural resources in Jordan and Palestine.

Khader adds that this agreement would have "subjected Jordan's water security and sovereignty to the hands of the Zionist enemy," which indicates the seriousness of what the organization is practicing and the importance of expelling it from the country, he said.

Source: Al Jazeera