JEDDAH: Social media could not stop talking about the Jordanian-Israeli confrontation between two politicians who challenged each other to meet at the border between the West Bank and Jordan and settle their differences with their fists.
Jordanian MP Yahia Al-Soud and Knesset member Oren Hazan are known for their loud, attention-seeking statements and heated discussions in public arenas.
Reactions to the incident on Twitter varied from support to opposition. Some considered it to have a political dimension, expressing the Jordanian people’s rejection of the Israeli occupation.
Others found the behavior of the two politicians to be shameful and offensive to the policies pursued by the two states in dealing with foreign affairs, considering the language of dialogue used by the two to be regrettable.
“Our policies are ignorant and backward,” said one commenter on Twitter. Another criticized Al-Soud as a “sonorous phenomenon.”
#يحيى_السعود ظاهرة صوتية والقصة كلها مهزلة #الاردن
— Abdul (@ZORO_JOR) August 2, 2017
“What kind of joke is this? It’s a government, not a high school ,” said Sarah.
What kind of joke is this? It's a government not a high school #يحيي_السعود
— Sarah (@SarahQutaishat) August 2, 2017
Some even went as far as suggesting the state deprive Al-Soud of his immunity and “put him in jail over the show he pulls every time.”
#يحيي_السعود
اقسم بالله لو في حدا عاقل بالدولة ليسحب الحصانة منه وينحط بالسجن على المسخرة اللي بعملها كل مرة— هاء السكت (@majd82m3) August 2, 2017
Al-Soud, whose fists and shoes speak louder than his mouth, became a well-known case for his “attention-seeking” ways, many suggested. The same applies to his Israeli counterpart who recently acquired an international name for himself with his uninvited selfie with the US president Donald Trump, for which he was harshly criticized.
Irony and humor dominated most of the reactions, with people calling it “fight of the century,” and urging Al-Soud to “knock the Zionist down.”
كفو يالنائب الاردني دق خشم الصهيوني
— الملكي+56 (@vdTL8eUzC065thf) August 2, 2017
The incident “reminded me of my grandmother’s fight with her neighbor over plates and pots,” one Twitter user said.
والله هوشة #يحيى_السعود مع عضو الكنيست الاسرائيلي ما ذكررتني الا بهوشات جدتي مع جاراتها عالصحون والطناجر
— odai saaydeh HKJ (@odaisaaydeh) August 2, 2017
Another advised political science students to brace themselves and get ready to have a wrestling class in their schedule.
طلاب العلوم السياسية عليهم ان يستعدوا لمادة المباطحة السياسية على جدولهم ...حال السياسة حاليا #يحيى_السعود #سياسة
— Hiba Fathi (@hibafathi2016) August 2, 2017
A viral photo of the Israeli MP with his significant other taking a mirror selfie while touching Hazan’s “belly” has been shared by many advising Al-Soud to calm down, as his counterpart appears to be expecting a baby!
شوي شوي ابو سعود الشب طلع حامل #يحيى_السعود pic.twitter.com/hYB15chCQv
— Omar Mter (@OmarMter1) August 2, 2017
Twitter was flooded with hilarious memes combining the two politicians with the funniest captions. “Fight of the century: 10am, August 2, 2017. Tickets price: 67 Jordanian Dinar for first class, 48 Jordanian dinar for second class.”
انا أقول آه وهو يقول آه .. هذا السعود لا تتباطح وياه .. #يحيي_السعود#مباطحة_القرن#كلنا_يحيى_السعود pic.twitter.com/bsmFQXiNwf
— Ahmed Assaf (@Ahmad_3ssaf) August 2, 2017
A video clip shows Jordanian sports announcer ”Shiks Al-Ali” commenting on a supposed confrontation between the two MPs.
Al-Sousb said he was ready to wrestle his Israeli counterpart on the King Hussein Bridge after the recent incident at the Israeli embassy in Jordan which resulted in the killing of two Jordanians by an Israeli security guard.
He said if it were not for the treaty between Jordan and Israel, the Israeli MP would not have dared to speak of the Jordanian people in such a manner.
On July 23 Hazan tweeted that Israel protected Jordan’s “posterior” and the country needed “reeducation,” a tweet that sparked rebukes on Twitter.
נראה ששכנינו ממזרח לירדן, אלה שאנו משקים במים ושומרים להם על הישבן יומם ולילה, צריכים קצת חינוך מחדש.
זה מתחיל להרגיש כמו שלום ולא להתראות..— אורן חזן (@oren_haz) July 23, 2017
