Watch | Jordanian restaurant named ‘October 7’ invites sharp criticism from Israel

A newly-opened restaurant in Jordan invited severe criticism from Israel over its name 'October 7' which Tel Aviv said was done deliberately in a show of support for the Palestinian group Hamas' deadly assault.

The video of the shawarma joint, situated in the Southern Mazar district of the country, took the internet by storm and triggered severe backlash for glorifying the Hamas attacks.

'Political pressure'

However, Israel's Ynet News quoted a social media post by the owner of the restaurant where he claimed that he had to forcibly take down the name of his food outlet due to "political pressure".

He further added that the government authorities had threatened to withhold his business license stating that it was against the law to give a restaurant a name with political connotations.

“The date October 7 is an honourable date and will remain engraved in our hearts forever. I wasn’t looking for fame, trends or marketing. I am proud of myself and proud that I shook the fragile entity [Israel] by using the name of a shawarma restaurant and struck terror in their hearts for at least two days,” he wrote in a Facebook post.

Disgraceful glorification of October 7 has to stop, says Israel’s opposition party chief

After the video of the restaurant went viral, the chief of Israel’s opposition party, Yair Lapid, released a statement saying that the name 'October 7' showcased "incitement and hatred against Israel," further urging the Jordanian government to take stern action.

"The disgraceful glorification of October 7th has to stop. The incitement and hatred against Israel breeds the terrorism and extremism which led to the brutal massacre of October 7th," Lapid wrote on X.

The disgraceful glorification of October 7th has to stop. The incitement and hatred against Israel breeds the terrorism and extremism which led to the brutal massacre of October 7th.

We expect the Jordanian government to condemn this publicly and unequivocaly https://t.co/KwyeqHAiXO — יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) January 25, 2024

“We expect the Jordanian government to condemn this publicly and unequivocally,” he added.

According to local Israeli media reports, the restaurant was renovated in Al-Karak and decided on a name that glorified the unprecedented attacks that Hamas launched against Israeli sites on Oct 7, 2023.

As per Israeli media outlets, Israeli-Jordanian ties took a hit after the war broke out between Israel and Hamas. The bilateral meetings have been suspended since then.

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)