Gas drilling off the coast of Israel. Photo: www.drillingcontractor.org via Flickr.com.

From the Jordan Times:

Activists have vowed that 2017 will be a year of “increased activism” against Jordanian normalisation of ties with Israel, with a particular focus on the two countries’ recent gas deal.

Activists from anti-normalisation campaigns have marked the beginning of what they predict will be an “eventful year” of activism, aimed at cancelling the gas deal with Israel and forcing the resignation of the government.

They said 2017 will be a period of concerted “anti-normalisation” activities which Jordanians from all backgrounds engage in,  including protests against the gas deal, both on campuses and in the streets.

Mohammad Absi, head of the anti-normalisation campaign, said the normalisation process started in 1994, when the government signed the Wadi Araba peace treaty with Israel.

“Despite [consecutive] governments promoting and reinforcing the idea of normalisation, people had the choice to ignore it. But with the gas deal, people do not have that choice anymore,” he told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

After collecting signatures for a petition in Amman, Irbid, Karak and Balqa, and organising demonstrations to voice “the people’s rejection of normalisation”, Absi said the campaign will highlight issues related to the Jordanian workforce in Eilat, in order to protest normalised relations with Israel.

“2016 was a year that saw normalisation thoroughly endorsed, with many documents and papers promoting engaging in trade and tourism with the Zionists. This year, we aim to increase efforts to cancel the gas deal signed with the Israeli government,” he added.

Here’s the weird part:

As part of a series of events planned this year, activists from different political parties on Friday organised a march in front of Al Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman to protest recent price hikes and the gas deal.

There was a huge turnout on Friday and Saturday from various protests against price hikes on a number of items including fuel.

But the deal to import gas from Israel will save Jordan some $600 million annually. Prices will go much higher without the deal.

What alternatives do the anti-Israel Jordanians have for fuel?

The article has an activist saying that Jordan can use shale and alternative energy, but that is hardly a plan.

Hate for Israel is so extreme that the haters are willing to sacrifice Jordan itself.