‘I panic when my phone rings’: the plight of Palestinians in Jordan

In kingdom where half of people have Palestinian roots, rulers try to balance US ties with calls for action on Gaza war

Ahmed Saeed Abu Fares leans back in his cheap plastic chair and smiles. He has just got a call through to his older sister in Gaza. Though he is only 90 miles away in Jordan, this is an achievement. The conversation is brief, but long enough for Abu Fares to hear that she is safe. So too are her children. For the first time in weeks, the 63-year-old scrap dealer relaxes.

“We just couldn’t get through to check on them. When their house was bombed and two of my nieces were killed, it was two weeks before I found out. So I’ve been panicking when my phone rings. Every time, it is terror or fear,” Abu Fares says. “I feel much better now. She says they are all tired but OK.”