Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
are prepared by the Government Press Office
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A Strategic Decision
Analysis by Oded Granot, "Ma'ariv", (Sept 23, 1999, p. A7)
Yesterday, King Abdallah II - after only seven months on the job - made
his most important strategic decision in the domestic political arena so
far. He showed a red card to Hamas in Jordan by throwing its leaders in
prison. Senior Jordanian sources told Ma'ariv last night that the
decision was not made in haste, but was a calculated one dictated by
reality. The Hamas leadership in Jordan broke the rules of the game and
violated the conditions set by its hosts: It switched from permitted
political activity to forbidden terrorism.
Several motives underlie the King's decision. One is related to the
King's desire to show the Palestinian Authority, Israel and indirectly,
the United States, that he will not hesitate, nor is he afraid, to do
his part in the war against terrorism and in advancing the peace
process.
Another motive, no less important, is related to intelligence that
reached the King that the Hamas leadership in Jordan was not merely
encouraging attacks in the territories, sending instructions and the
like, but was also trying to recruit partners for attacks from among
members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. Such intelligence, if
publicly revealed, could have caused severe embarrassment to the palace.
At this point, the King ordered the security services to act, and he
received their full backing in return. He would, of course, have
preferred to see the Hamas leadership outside Jordan, but once they
decided to return, despite the warrants against them, he had no choice.
Now, the main effort by the Jordanian information services, headed by
Deputy Prime Minister Iman Majali, is to make the difference between the
Islamic Movement in Jordan (the Muslim Brotherhood) and Hamas clear to
the Jordanian public. The former is a legitimate Jordanian movement,
against whom the authorities have no quarrel, while Hamas is a
Palestinian organization that, "exploited Jordanian hospitality in order
to endanger the security of the
state."