Jordanian Paralympian withdraws from global competition over Israeli opponent

A Jordanian national table tennis player has withdrawn from an international championship to avoid playing an Israeli player, the Jordanian Paralympic Committee said on Friday

Osama Abu Jame refused to continue participating in the Slovenia International Championship after reaching the quarter-finals where he was scheduled to go head to head with an Israeli player. 

Arab and Muslim players and athletes from around the world who oppose normalisation with Israel regularly withdraw from global competitions as a sign of solidarity with Palestinians facing Israeli occupation.

Although Jordan signed a peace deal with Israel in 1994, tensions between the two countries persist and most Jordanians support the Palestinians in their fight for self-determination.

In recent days, Jordanian activists have launched a campaign to get citizens to switch off electricity supplies at home for one hour to protest the import of Israeli gas.

Using the hashtag #Pull_ThePlug, activists called on Jordanians to join a blackout from 10pm to 11pm this Saturday to send a message of discontent at the Israeli gas deal.

The act of collective resistance follows the latest round of Israeli violence against Palestinians, which peaked during the 11-day bombardment of Gaza.