News-Middle East: Jordanian protesters have taken to the streets in the capital Amman, calling for the cancellation of a multi-billion-dollar gas agreement signed between the state-owned National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and Israel in 2016.

The protesters gathered near the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and NEPCO’s headquarters in Amman on Sunday, holding banners and chanting slogans against the Israeli regime and the gas import agreement.

The demonstration was organized by the ‘National Campaign to Abolish the Import Agreement with the Zionist Regime’ with the slogan, “No to the agreement, Jordan should not be the enemy’s gateway for gas and electricity exports.”

Muhammad al-Absi, a member of the campaign follow-up committee, said the rally was held on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the signing of the “catastrophic” agreement.

“Today we reiterate our call, which did not stop at all, to demand the cancellation of this agreement. We say there is no way but to cancel this agreement, which will make this country a pawn in the hands of the Zionist entity, and will be used to blackmail us about anything as it did in the water file,” he added.

The Jordanian protesters chanted, “The agreement is a betrayal,” and, “Arab Jordan is for the free, not for the traitorous Zionists.”

Suleiman Sweis, a protester, said, “I stand today with my colleagues in order to protect the future generations of Jordan, and to preserve their dignity and Jordan's sovereignty.”

The deal was struck between an Israeli gas consortium and the NEPCO in September 2016 with an estimated value of $10 billion (€9.25 billion).