Israeli troops in an army vehicle came under fire from a gunman in Jordan over the weekend.
According to the IDF, the troops were on patrol at the Jordan River crossing late Friday near the northern town of Beit Shean. After firing at the IDF vehicle, the terrorist fled back into Jordan. There were no injuries in the attack.
Tensions are rising in Jordan, with violent protests in support of Hamas. In a recent interview on a Jordanian news channel, former Information Minister Samih Al-Maaytah, said that “Hamas leaders in Qatar are stirring unrest in Jordan, trying to tell us that they own the Jordanian public; we should seriously consider revoking their Jordanian citizenship.”
Even though Jordan has shown support for Gaza by making statements and sending aid, its economy is closely tied to trade with Israel.
Within the past few years, plans have been shared for a joint Israeli-Jordanian industrial park, named the “Jordan Gateway,” located along their shared border. Conceived shortly after the 1994 peace treaty but only recently finalized, this initiative aims to house factories and a logistics wing for transferring goods between Israeli and Jordanian entrepreneurs and businesspeople.
Under a 2021 deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates and the United States, a substantial solar energy farm will be constructed in Jordan by Masdar, a UAE government-owned renewable energy company. Israel will purchase the generated solar power, and a new coastal desalination facility will supply Jordan with water.
