VOA News | Thursday, October 19, 2023 
Analysis: Mass Protests Rock Jordan, Key US Ally in Mideast

Furious protests over the bombing of a Gaza hospital continued Thursday on the streets of Jordan, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, which also has a large population of Palestinian descent. Analysts say a summit in Jordan between U.S. President Joe Biden and Arab leaders, now canceled, could have helped further cement a humanitarian corridor for Gaza. Curtis Ryan is a Middle East specialist at Appalachian State University in the U.S. He told VOA that three days of public mourning in Jordan announced after the blast at the Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds and the ensuing large-scale protests in Jordan made holding a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden difficult. “It’s really unfortunate that this summit isn’t happening because there is such an urgency since this would have brought together Egypt, Jordan, the United States, and the Palestinian Authority not just for the humanitarian corridor, but the…Read more