Amman, Dec 18 (DPA) Jordanian lawmakers observed a minute's silence in a show of support for Iraqi reporter Montazer al-Zaidi, who hurled his shoes at US President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad earlier this week, media reports said Thursday.

The move came in response to a proposal by Deputy Speaker Tayseer Shdeifat, who also urged the lower chamber to issue a statement demanding his release.

"Zaidi will remain a symbol of defending Arab dignity which (Bush) vanquished in 2003," by invading Iraq, pro-government member of parliament Najeh Momani said.

The leader of the Islamic Action Front's parliamentary bloc, Hamzeh Mansour, was quoted by Jordanian newspapers as saying that Bush deserved being pelted with shoes because he "was an arrogant despot who sought to turn himself into god on earth".

Head of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee Mahmoud Mheidat also delivered a poem in praise of al-Zaidi.