Slashed curfew hours overshadowed by Jerusalem crisis

AMMAN — Despite weeks of anticipation for the easing of curfew restrictions during Eid Al-Fitr, events at Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah have continued to dominate the social media conversation in Jordan and overshadow the announcement.       اضافة اعلان

Jordanians took to both the streets and social media in protest against event taking place in occupied Jerusalem, with hashtags such as #AlAqsaUnderAttack, #SaveSheikhJarrah, #FreePalestine, and #Palestinianlivesmatter trending both nationally and internationally across all social media platforms, amid accusations that posts on this subject matter were being censored and restricted across platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

As of Monday, all of the top ten nationally trending hashtags across social media platforms pertained to either Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, where Palestinian families are facing forced evictions, or Al-Aqsa mosque, which has been the scene of daily violations from Israeli forces, with voices across the nation expressing their support for the Palestinian people.

Most mention of the curfew across social media was in direct relation to the situation in Jerusalem. Some speculated that the lifting of curfew regulations is a direct response to the protests that took place near the Israeli embassy in Amman’s Rabieh neighborhood on Sunday, as a means of appeasing the public.

Institutions and individuals alike have long been demanding that the government lift defense regulations preventing them from freely moving past 7:00pm, citing the economic, social, and financial effects on the population.

For the weeks preceding eid, the question of how the Jordanian government would tackle a holiday centered on large gatherings was widely debated and speculated around. From late February to early April, the hashtag #حظر_الجمعة (Hather Al-Juma’a, Friday curfew) was trending nationwide, under which people expressed their distress regarding the lockdown and the implications it would hold for working-class families and business owners.

The hashtag trended once more when the government announced its intention to lift the Friday lockdown, but with far less enthusiasm than the first wave of tweets, trending for a matter of days rather than months. 

Some users commended the protesters, expressing admiration for the en masse show of support, despite defense laws banning large gatherings.

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