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Source: http://mondediplo.com/blogs/unrest-in-jordan
Unrest in Jordan
(Le Monde Diplomatique-France) Don Duncan - Jordan recently has been shaken by popular protests. The upheaval also reflects a factor peculiar to Jordan - its delicate demographic balance between indigenous tribes, known as East Bankers, and Palestinians who have received Jordanian citizenship. Most agree that Jordanians of Palestinian origin are now a majority, and may even number as much as 70% of the country's estimated 6.4 million population. The demographic divide has an economic dimension. Traditionally, East Bankers have dominated the public sector, and Palestinian Jordanians the private. Today, as a result of economic policy changes, Amman is dotted with start-up enterprises, many of them steered by young Palestinian Jordanians. The demographic anxiety among East Bankers has caused them to see Jordan's recent pro-private sector economic policy as an attack on their welfare, in favor of the Palestinians.