5 - 11 July 2001
Issue No.541
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 5 - 11 July 2001 Issue No.541 |
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Keeping a low profile
A meticulously drawn agreement between exiled Hamas spokesman Ibrahim Ghosheh and the Jordanian government brought a two-week crisis to a quiet end, reports Lola Keilani from Amman
The crisis brewing between Jordan and Qatar over the return to Jordan of Ibrahim Ghosheh, the official spokesman of Palestine Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, subsided this week when an agreement was reached between Hamas and the Jordanian government.
The crisis erupted two-weeks ago with Ghosheh's sudden arrival in Amman from the Qatari capital of Doha. Jordanian authorities deported the 67-year-old Ghosheh and three other Hamas activists to Qatar 20 months ago after taking a decision to ban the militant movement's activity in Jordan. Like many Palestinians living in Jordan in the years following Israel's creation in 1948, all the deported Hamas members carried Jordanian passports.
Ghosheh's unexpected arrival in Amman put Jordan in a difficult and embarrassing situation. The government insisted that it would not allow Ghosheh to enter the country unless he severed all ties with Hamas. To show that they meant business, the Qatari plane that had brought Ghosheh from Doha was held at Queen Alia airport, along with Ghosheh, until it took the unwanted Hamas figure back to Qatar. The plane's pilot and crew were put up in a five-star hotel, but it wasn't enough to temper Qatar's rage.
Then, as suddenly as it began, the crisis was over. On 28 June, it was announced that an agreement had been reached. At dawn, Ghosheh made a public statement that, he had "frozen" all political and organisational links with Hamas. He noted that his actions were in response to the directives of Hamas's political leadership.
Because Jordanian authorities had sworn that the Qatari plane would take Ghosheh back out of Amman, Ghosheh was forced to take a somewhat circuitous route in order to enter the country. Ghosheh was first flown to Bangkok, Thailand, where he caught a regular flight back to Amman. While in Thailand, Ghosheh sent a written message to the government declaring that he would freeze certain links with Hamas and appealed to Jordanian King Abdullah to end the crisis.
"I have left of my own desire to Bangkok, and I hope to return to my beloved Jordan, God willing, in a few days. I will freeze my political activity with Hamas," Ghosheh's message read.
The Hamas leader arrived in Amman on Saturday, where he was reunited with his family. Ghosheh's son said that in accordance with the agreement reached with the Jordanian government, his father would not give any interviews to the press.
Jordanian newspapers reported that the deal had been struck in line with instructions issued by King Abdullah. According to the English daily The Jordan Times, the painstakingly crafted "security/political" understandings that ultimately reunited Ghosheh with his family "offered a dignified exit to Ghosheh, and provided a face-saving formula for the government of Prime Minister Ali Abul-Ragheb, which found itself confronted with an unprecedented, unpopular and intertwined legal-political- security challenge."
For the government, the deal has put an end to a growing popular crisis. According to a survey published on Sunday by the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan, only one in three Jordanians agreed with the government's way of handling the Ghosheh case.
Last Friday, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mishaal explained that Ghosheh would not engage in political activity in Jordan, but would retain his role within the movement. The accord stipulates that Ghosheh ends "all activity within Jordan in the name of Hamas," but allows that he will not renounce his role and position within the movement," Mishaal said. For Ghosheh, this means that he can continue his activities as a member of the movement, but only outside of Jordan.
The new accord with Ghosheh could pave the way for the easy, low-profile return of more Hamas leaders to Jordan. The group's leadership says that it cannot understand the Jordanian government's position on Hamas members, especially after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat released all their detained political figures -- a response to growing pressure from the Palestinian people.
Flights between Amman and Qatar were halted for two weeks during the crisis, upon Jordan's request. Following Ghosheh's return, the flights were resumed, but the repercussions of the government's decision to hold the captain and crew of the Qatari airplane are not clear yet. Qatari officials were quoted as saying that they were considering suing the Jordanian government for the damages inflicted on Qatari Airlines.
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