AMMAN, Jordan — Some 350 Arab and foreign publishing houses from 22 countries have joined the 2019 Amman International Book Fair, which took place this week with the theme "Jerusalem: The Capital of Palestine."

The fair, held from Sept. 26 to Oct. 5, falls against the backdrop of a US peace plan for Palestine and its neighbors — the “deal of the century” — and the announcements of various countries to move their embassies to Jerusalem.

The program includes political seminars, including a symposium titled “Facing the Zionist Narrative" on Sept. 29, and another titled “The Reality and Future of Jerusalem” on Sept. 30.  The Oct. 4 seminar “The future of the region in light of the deal of the century” tackled the Donald Trump administration’s peace plan. 

Fathi al-Biss, president of the Jordanian Publishers Association and director of the fair, told Al-Monitor, “Adopting the slogan of ‘Jerusalem: The Capital of Palestine’ is an affirmation of Jordan's rejection of all Israeli schemes that target the Arabization of Jerusalem and undermine the Hashemite guardianship over the holy sites.”