"Massive win for Jordan BDS as French retail giant Carrefour closes all stores", 6 November 2024

...Carrefour has announced the closure of all its branches in Jordan as of Monday 4 November, following a concerted boycott campaign targeting pro-Israel companies in the kingdom.

The retail giant made the announcement on Facebook stating: "As of November 4, 2024, Carrefour will cease all operations in Jordan and will no longer operate within the Kingdom".

The Carrefour franchise in Jordan was held by Emirati company Majid Al Futtaim, which has announced that the former Carrefour stores will be reopened as "brand-new Arab grocery chain" under the new name "HyperMax".

While Carrefour did not elaborate on the reason behind the closure, the development comes amid an intensive and widespread boycott campaign in Jordan which has targeted Carrefour alongside other international companies perceived to be pro-Israel.

The campaign has seen the backing of the vast majority of Jordanians – with 93 percent stating in a poll last November that they were committed to boycotting products from countries supportive of Israel and its war on Gaza.

"This is an important victory, and one of the boycott's successes which really proves that this popular, ethical act of struggle can generate results," Hamza Al-Khader from Jordan BDS told The New Arab...

Khader and other activists accused Carrefour of providing food parcels to Israeli soldiers amid the brutal war on Gaza, but this was denied by the supermarket chain in a statement sent to The New Arab.

"Carrefour operates in Israel through a franchise agreement with an independent company. Contrary to rumours circulating on social media, this Israeli company provides no material support to the military," it said.

"As for the photos of food parcel donations to soldiers, these were individual initiatives that did not involve the Israeli franchisee, and the photographs were immediately removed," Carrefour added...