AKEED, Osama Rawajfeh

Local and Arab media outlets implicated Jordan in the political crisis between the Arabian Gulf states on the first day of its eruption in order to remove Jordan from the neutral position it has adopted since the crisis broke out visibly between Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states on the one hand and Qatar on the other. The crisis erupted against the background of statements attributed to the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Qatar has repeatedly denied the statements although they were carried by official Qatari media.

Some websites were content with news analyses--these websites adopted the views of the writers of these analyses--that placed Jordan in the midst of the Gulf crisis by force. However, Jordanian dailies published on 6 June 2017 adopted a neutral attitude, which is the same attitude adopted by the official Jordanian position as soon as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Egypt, and other countries announced breaking off ties with Qatar.

Khaberni quoted an unnamed official source as saying that "Jordan will not comment on developments in the Gulf," while Ammon carried a news analysis taken from the London-based Al Quds Al Arabi newspaper under the headline "Jordan and Qatar: Strategy of Wait and See and Neutrality Might Not Hold for Too Long." Ammon also published a report headlined "Jordanians in Qatar Are Not Fine." The writer said that "Jordanians in Qatar are not sleeping" and that "the scene is tragic; it is black comedy." The report had an old and wrong picture that shows empty markets in the US city of Montgomery prior to a sandstorm.  

Also, Ro"ya news site committed the same mistake involving the picture. It republished the picture of the market of the US city of Montgomery as part of a report, which it attributed to Doha News and Sky News Arabia websites. However, the picture was not posted on the two websites. The Ro"ya report was headlined "In Pictures…Qataris Empty Shops After Closing Borders." The report did not refer to the Jordanian position toward the Gulf crisis.

The website of the newspaper Rai al Youm, in its main news item about the Gulf crisis, involved Jordan as an important party to the case. Its item carried the headline "Stepping Up Pressure on Jordan To Take Measure Against Qatar." Also, the body of the item confirmed the attempt by some Arab media outlets to mobilize Jordan to be on the side of a specific party to the case, which is the Saudi axis.

The body of the item stated the following: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Egypt announced on Monday severing diplomatic relations with Qatar, while the government of Jordan has not yet determined its position on this issue despite the fact that it is very close to the same axis. Amman has not hastened to take a decision to break off ties with Qatar, as done by the four countries that are very close to it."

In the same context, Al Kawn News published an item under the headline "Jordan"s Position Toward Decision by UAE and Saudi Arabia To Sever Relations With Qatar." It said: "According to sources, the Jordanian government has not yet determined its position toward this issue despite the fact that it is very close to the same axis." Saraya website used the headline "What Was Jordan"s Comment on the Crisis of Severing Diplomatic Relations With Qatar?" It said: "Government sources confirmed today, Monday, that Jordan will not comment on the decision by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt to cut off diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar."

Other websites were busy talking about the impact of such a decision on Jordan. 3lnar News published a report headlined "Jordan Impacted by Crisis…33 Trucks Not Allowed To Cross Into Qatar." It attributed the news to sources that spoke about the impact of the Qatari market on the Jordanian economy without any documentation or data.

The website Sputnik Arabic and the Egyptian Al Wafd cited Jordanian websites as publishing a report headlined "Jordan Steers Clear of Gulf Crisis and Cutting Off Ties With Qatar." It included the statements of the official source about not commenting on the issue, adopting neutrality, and showing concern about Arab interests. However, the general scene showed that local and Arab media outlets were thirsty for the announcement of an official Jordanian position toward the Gulf crisis.

Neutrality did not last long. A Jordanian position was eventually announced. On the second day after the boycott decision, there was a "calm" official piece of news, which included two important decisions. The first was to reduce diplomatic representation between the two countries to charge d"affaires, while the second was to close down the bureaus of Al Jazeera TV in Jordan. The second decision was met with clear opposition by media persons and journalists on social media platforms.  

Jordanian media outlets have failed to provide an informational service to the public related to the pattern of relations between Doha and Amman and the level of economic relations between the two states. They have also failed to provide clear figures about the volume of trade between the two countries, including, for example, the volume of Jordanian labor and exchange. The media outlets have not provided a news service that is directly related to the interests of Jordanians. For example, will flights between the two countries be affected?