Jordan Islamists protest as king meets Obama
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Hours before Jordan's king meets with U.S. President Barack Obama in California, his Islamist opposition at home is staging its largest protest in months to reject a peace deal as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The 1,200 protesters affiliated with Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood have also burned the Israeli flag.
Although Jordan maintains cordial ties with Israel under a 1994 peace treaty, many Jordanians are skeptical of their neighbor's intentions. Roughly half of Jordan's population traces its roots to Palestinians displaced in Arab-Israeli wars.
Jordan's Brotherhood calls for Israel's annihilation through armed struggle.
The protesters also demanded Jordan's King Abdullah II to "revoke the peace treaty with the Zionists."
Abdullah's Friday meeting with Obama will focus on Israeli-Palestinian peace, the war in Syria and increased U.S. aid to cash-strapped Jordan.
