Jordanians say problems caused by Israeli GPS jams are growing
Users of location-based apps in Jordan say glitches they had been experiencing for weeks have become much worse.
The disruption in services using the Global Positioning System (GPS) began to be noticed in Jordan and other countries neighbouring Israel more than a week ago.
The problem intensified in the days before Iran attacked Israel with drones and missiles last Saturday, users said.
It came as the Israeli army said it had bolstered its air defence systems in response to Iran’s threat to retaliate over an attack in Syria that killed senior members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Israel has admitted to increasing GPS jamming in a bid to thwart attacks since the start of its war against the Hamas militant group in Gaza in October and the related cross-border conflict with Hezbollah in south Lebanon.
The head of Jordan’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission, Haitham Misto, said air traffic had been affected due to interference with GPS, forcing pilots to use alternative systems for landings.
Many Jordanians say they have been suffering for several weeks now from Israel’s GPS jamming, as well as spoofing, which is when the system is tricked to show the user at a different location to their actual position.
“I noticed a significant dip in the number of customers booking me in my Uber and Careem apps for the past week compared to in the past,” Mohammed Saleh, a Jordanian driver, told The National.
“Tourists are saying that when they use the app it automatically shows them in either Cairo or Beirut, and most of the time they’re not bothered with manually changing their location to Amman.”
Tourists in the Jordanian capital told The National they had also been struggling to find their way across the city on foot because Google Maps had been redirecting their real-time locations to either Beirut or Cairo.
“We usually use apps like Uber to help us get from point A to point B and we like using it because it takes away the challenge of payment and rates since we can pay on the apps,” said a visitor from Italy.
“But because of the GPS jamming, we’re noticing it’s just easier now to hail a taxi on the road to get to places.”
Majdi Al Qabalin, a Jordanian cyber security expert, said Israel was conducting a jamming operation on global navigation satellite systems with the help of several countries, and this was affecting Jordan.
The goal of this operation is to jam drone guidance systems, with a focus on Yemeni,
Palestinian and Lebanese drones, Mr Al Qabalin said.
Nedal Alsamara of Jordan’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, said on Thursday that Amman contacted Israel over the problem of GPS spoofing and was still waiting for a response.
“The areas most affected by interference with the Global Positioning System are the western and northern regions of the kingdom,” he said.
Jordan has been on high alert since Iran’s attack on Israel, which involved more than 300 missiles and drones.
A staunch ally of the US, Jordan shot down most of the Iranian drones and missiles that flew over its territory towards Israel, with the help of American air defences and support from the UK and France.
Since then, the Royal Jordanian Air Force has increased its air sorties. Fighter jets can be heard flying over Amman, especially during evenings.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Wednesday that an Israeli retaliation against the Iranian attack carried a real risk of dragging the whole region into a devastating war.
“The risks are enormous,” Mr Safadi said. “The situation is too dangerous.”
Tourists in Amman have been struggling as Google Maps has been redirecting them to either Beirut or Cairo