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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 4 - 10 November 1999 Issue No. 454
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters No compromise on Hamas, yet
By Lola KeilaniThe optimism that followed the first round of negotiations between the Jordanian government and the Muslim Brotherhood to secure the release of Hamas resistance movement leaders from Jordanian jails seems to have ebbed following a second round of talks held on Sunday.
The two-hour unscheduled meeting which took place between Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Ra'ouf Rawabdeh and leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Abdul-Majeed Thneibat failed to achieve the desired results, Brotherhood sources said.
Jamil Abu Bakr, a member of the Brotherhood's executive council, said both parties had disagreed on a number of issues. "I will not go into details on the points we disagreed on, but we need to contact Hamas and have more discussions with the government."
It was not clear whether the Brotherhood would contact Hamas decision-makers inside or outside the kingdom.
The Jordanian government closed down five Hamas offices in August and issued warrants for the arrest of leaders of the movement. Politburo chief Khalid Mish'al and spokesman Ibrahim Ghousheh were among 12 other activists arrested.
Hamas' representative in Jordan, Mohamed Nazzal, is still in hiding and Musa Abu Marzouk, a Hamas politburo member, was deported to Syria upon arrival with Mish'al and Ghousheh at Amman airport.
Political analysts stress the government must find a way out of the crisis before it escalates into a confrontation between the government and Islamist grassroots movements. "It would be in the government's best interests to reach a compromise acceptable to Hamas," said Musa Zaid, a political observer. "If the government does not deal with the issue in a wise manner there is a great possibility that Islamist movements in Jordan could become radicalised," Zaid said.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood, is the largest licensed opposition party in Jordan. Other Islamic movements in the kingdom are operating underground. Some stirred up political unrest in 1997 when a series of explosions rocked the capital Amman.
The government, meanwhile, dismissed claims that the talks had failed and said it expected negotiations to resume in the next few days. "The Brotherhood met with the premier and requested that consultations with Hamas continue," said Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Majali.
A key sticking point between the two parties is the presence of Hamas leaders and their offices in Jordan. The government's previous condition was that Hamas leaders should not hold any official titles and should live in Jordan as ordinary citizens. But during the meeting, Rawabdeh demanded that Mish'al and other leaders leave the country within six days of their release, sources said. Hamas refuses the deportation of its leaders, especially since they hold Jordanian passports like many Jordanians of Palestinian origin. Hamas also insists that the movement should be allowed to maintain a symbolic presence in Jordan.
In addition, reports say that Mish'al is against the government's negotiations with the Brotherhood, supporting instead direct talks with Hamas leaders. The Brotherhood claims it is only mediating and is not seeking to impose any solutions of its own.
Additional meetings between the government and Brotherhood officials are expected to take place soon but no date has yet been fixed.
