Jordan: Israeli Embassy Evacuated Ahead of Protests

The Israeli embassy in Amman was evacuated Wednesday in anticipation of mass protests planned for Thursday outside the mission. Over 3,000 individuals belong to the Facebook group entitled “Million Man March to Close the Israeli Embassy in Jordan,” which has planned the demonstration set to take place at 6:30 p.m. today.  The protesters will demand the closure of the embassy and expulsion of the ambassador, as well as “the annulment of the 1994 peace treaty with Israel.”

Today’s protests are part of a series of recent demonstrations, including one Wednesday outside the U.S. embassy in Amman “demanding its closing over reported WikiLeaks cables that suggested a covert U.S. plan to turn Jordan into a home for Palestinians.” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Monday that State hoped to “avoid any spillover into the larger region” of last week’s attacks on the Israeli embassy in Cairo.