Palestinian podium sweep in Jordan 4×4 gives “sign of hope despite ongoing aggression at home”

As Israel’s invasion of Gaza continues, Palestinian racers hoped to bring a glimmer of light. The brightest so far came on Friday when Palestinians swept the top four overall in the Jordan 4×4 Championship‘s season opener at Wasfi Al-Tal Forest in Amman.

Emad Khabeis, with Basel Nawasha as co-driver, won the Pro category with the fastest time outright. Hazem Foudeh and Hamzeh Masarweh finished second followed by Wisam Khalileh and Serri Handal. All three drivers raced Jeep Wranglers.

Khalileh just beat out Muhammed Hananah for the last step on the podium, while Hussein Sheyoukhi finished eighth to mark four Palestinians in the top ten. Two other Palestinians, Mahmoud Hafez and Amjad Hanana, retired with mechanical issues.

Twenty-one drivers from Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates took part in Friday’s race. The Palestinian Motor Sport & Motorcycle Federation worked with Jordan Motorsport to bring competitors from Palestine’s West Bank, where the PMSMF is headquartered, to Amman.

Jordan shares a border with Israel and the West Bank; although the latter is not the primary focus of Israel’s operations in their war with Hamas, various skirmishes and air strikes have still occurred with civilian casualties. Various American military bases in Jordan have also been targeted as part of the war’s spillover. With the conflict so close to home, JMS cancelled last November’s Jordan Baja which would have concluded the FIA and FIM Bajas World Cups.

“Despite pain, there is hope,” begins a statement from the PMSMF. “The Palestinian team continues to achieve success after success. Palestinian competitors participating in the Jordan 4×4 Championship began the 2024 season with the top four positions in the final results of the first round in the Kingdom. It is worth mentioning that the Jordanian automobile association did everything possible to facilitate the entry of the sporting delegation and raise the Palestinian flag in this series.

“These results came as a sign of hope despite the ongoing aggression at home. Nearly thirty competitors competed for the top positions, but the podium was all Palestinian.”

The race consisted of a qualifying round followed by a final on a two-kilometre course for the fifteen fastest cars. Other winners included the Jeep Cherokee XJ of Jihad Shbetah and Ameen Abu Obeid in the Semi-Pro class and the Jeep Grand Cherokee of Hamzeh Baja and Mohammed Abdullah in Amateur.

The 2024 Jordan 4×4 Championship consists of three rounds, with the next two scheduled for 19 July and 6 September.