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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 September 1999 Issue No. 446 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 9 - 15 September 1999 Issue No. 446
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Books Special Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Hamas crackdown
By Lola Keilani
puts Jordan in bindThe Jordanian authorities' unexpected move to close the offices of Hamas in Amman, round up 12 of its members and issue arrest warrants against its leaders marked a turning point in relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Jordanian government. But the move is expected to have negative repercussions on the relationship between King Abdullah and the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest opposition party in the kingdom.
Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel-Ra'ouf Rawabdeh said that the crackdown on Hamas was the result of violations committed by the movement while Interior Minister Nayef Qadi said that the offices, which were registered as research centres and business premises were "fronts for illegal political activities."
Political observers stress that the crackdown marks a departure from the modus vivendi of the last five years, during which Jordan has resisted US, Israeli and PA pressure to move against Hamas.
The crackdown came amid close Jordanian and PA security cooperation prior to the visit of US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to the region for talks aimed at pushing the peace talks forward. Moreover, the US Congress is withholding a $50 million aid package to Amman unless Hamas' presence in Jordan is terminated, Jordanian sources close to the government said. The crackdown also came at a time when Israel and the PA were struggling to wrap up the long-delayed agreement on how and when to implement the Wye River accords.
Musa Zeid, a political observer, pointed out that the move followed a declaration by Prime Minister Rawabdeh that Jordan is ready to placate the Palestinians by relinquishing to the PA its religious authority over holy sites in Jerusalem.
"What can be seen right now is that the kingdom is changing its ties with the Palestinians and Hamas, which used to form a political card in Jordan's oft-repeated, promiscuous confrontation with Yasser Arafat and his strong Palestinian organisation Fatah," Zeid said.
Jordan had in the past announced it would cede its jurisdiction over the holy sites once the final status talks between the PA and Israel were complete. The late King Hussein had maintained Jordan's role as the only custodian of Islamic sites in Jerusalem for the last 49 years, one of the pillars of his religious legitimacy as a Hashemite descendant of Prophet Mohamed.
The Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Hamas' major ally, reacted strongly to the move. Brotherhood leader Abdel-Majid Zuneibat denounced the actions, demanded clarification from the government and requested an urgent audience with King Abdullah.
"The step is unjustified and undemocratic," said Zuneibat. In a statement sent to the press he stressed that the crackdown is aimed at silencing public opposition to the country's 1994 peace treaty with Israel which, the movement says, many Jordanians fervently oppose.
Leith Shubeilat, a well-known opponent of the government, joined opposition parties in denouncing the government's move and described Hamas as a "group undertaking jihad in its noblest and most glorified form."
While experts believe that the moves are unlikely to result in a confrontation between the Muslim Brotherhood and the palace they will inevitably sour the relationship between the strongest political movement and the new king.
"The fact that three of the leaders were abroad at the time arrest warrants against them were issued was interpreted as an attempt to minimise domestic repercussions. If the leaders of Hamas had been arrested while in their refugee camp, then a clash was bound to take place," said an observer.
Other experts added that the closing of the offices should have taken place a long time ago since the global political situation can no longer tolerate a bin Laden or a Carlos or a suicidal Hamas. Moreover, Jordan is not supposed to be an arena for Palestinian players, especially top Hamas leadership, pro-government sources said. Anger with its leaders has been slowly brewing since King Hussein attended the Sharm El-Sheikh Anti-Terrorism World Summit three years ago.
"The closure of Hamas offices is a logical step given the fact that Jordan has been at peace with Israel since 1994 and has repeatedly affirmed that the Palestinians, and Palestinians alone, should decide the course of their peace talks. To have offices run by elements opposed to peace with Israel, or that seek to influence or interfere with the peace negotiations in one way or another, obviously runs counter to the principled position of the country," said the editorial of the Jordan Times.
Politburo Chief Khaled Misha'al, who, in 1997 survived a botched assassination attempt in Amman by Mossad, was in Tehran with Musa Abu-Marzouk and spokesman Ibrahim Ghousheh when the arrest warrants were issued against them. Misha'al has declared that they will be coming back to Jordan, to be near to their people and to face any military tribunal at whatever cost. A committee of prominent Egyptian and Jordanian lawyers are being contacted to represent Misha'al and his colleagues when they arrive in Amman, or when the trial starts. The remaining two leaders wanted by Jordanian authorities, Hamas representative in Jordan Mohamed Nazzal and Politburo member Izzat Al-Rishiq, have gone into hiding.
The next few weeks will be tense given the Wye II framework signed on Saturday is viewed by Arafat's opponents as "another defeatist concession granted by Arafat to Israel." Opposition parties and professional unions have unanimously declared solidarity with Hamas and voiced condemnation of Rawabdeh's crackdown, threatening to go to the airport to welcome the "wanted" Hamas leaders when their plane arrives.
Such an escalation, however, might not, in the end, play into Hamas' hands in a Jordan which has a new monarch, proud of his military Special Forces background, and who lacks his late father's leniency or indebtedness towards the Brotherhood and its allies.
