|
Trending Topics
|
Source: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2925
Amman Warms to Hamas
[Washington Institute for Near East Policy] Matthew Levitt and David Schenker - Senior Jordanian officials have been meeting with Hamas in what represents a significant shift for Amman, since relations between Jordan and the Palestinian group had been frozen for two years, following the arrest of three Hamas members in the kingdom on terrorism and weapons charges. Senior Jordanian security officials now appear confident that they have contained the Hamas terror threat in the kingdom. Hamas has been active in Jordan for many years and maintained its headquarters there throughout the 1990s under the leadership of Mousa Marzouk and Khaled Mashal. But in 1999, Jordan expelled the leadership for engaging in operational planning from inside the kingdom.