Alleged Jordanian activist Mudar Zahran banned from entering Israel
The self-proclaimed opposition leader says he is ‘a viable alternative to the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan.’
By ILANIT CHERNICKTel Aviv, Ben Gurion Airport (photo credit: BERTHOLD WERNER/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
Self-proclaimed Jordanian opposition leader Mudar Zahran was denied entry into Israel on Thursday.Zahran, who describes himself as the Secretary-General of the Jordanian Opposition Coalition, has close connections with several far-Right Israeli officials. He was allegedly coming to Israel to meet with those officials and with settler leaders.He has also strongly advocated for Jordan to be the Palestinian state, and reportedly has appealed to the far-Right in his claims that he is “a viable alternative to the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan.”According to a spokesperson from the Interior Ministry, Zahran arrived from the United Kingdom on Thursday but was “denied entry due to security reasons” and “flew back [to the UK] on Friday.”The official said there was no further information on the matter.In the past, while still residing in Jordan, the controversial figure described Jordan as “an apartheid state in its treatment against Palestinians.”However, following major backlash, he apologized for his comments through a Jordanian newspaper in Amman.Zahran has been accused of being involved in several controversial situations, including failing to pay back loans.In 2010, he fled Jordan for the UK to seek asylum from persecution by Jordanian officials. He continues to live in the UK.In May 2011, a few months after leaving Jordan, a local gazette published a summons by Amman’s Magistrates court calling on Zahran to present himself for a lawsuit filed against him by the HSBC bank branch in Jordan.The announcement said he was called for failing to repay the bank amounts totaling up to 47,000 Jordanian dinars – about $66,000.In December 2013, Zahran was reportedly charged by a Jordanian military court and scheduled to be tried in absentia on four separate charges, which included, “inciting hatred against the regime, sectarian strife and insulting the king as well as security services.”In February 2014, The Jerusalem Post reported that Zahran had been convicted and sentenced in absentia to jail with hard labor.Since moving to the UK, he has constantly criticized Jordan’s King Ablullah II and sees himself as Jordan’s future leader.Several accusations have also been made against him for being a fraud, and there have been claims that his Jordan Opposition Coalition is just an Internet phenomena, and not a real or viable option to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.
