Jordan

A radical Palestinian nation in the belly of Israel will take the war to every Israeli city and town. We are witnessing a major transformation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, where all parties are losing control and a sudden degeneration in the status quo is very likely. Reversing this dangerous trend will be almost impossible. With the United States openly backing the Sharon Government, the warmongers in Israel are winning the day. Radicalism is not an exclusive Palestinian trait. Fanatic settlers backed by right-wing cabinet ministers will lead Israel into an open war. A full invasion of Palestinian territories cannot be discounted, but would be a fatal Israeli blunder as the war would move quickly into Israel itself.

The Tel Aviv attack should have opened many eyes in Israel and the United States. Israel's war against the Palestinians can never be won. Israel will have to face up to the shameful reality of its long and unjust occupation of Palestinian lands, but that can happen only when it is too late. The specter of war in the region has never looked so real. Now, the Palestinians are being punished mercilessly. But they are not the culprits. During their decades-long struggle thousands of them have fallen; babies and children, women, the elderly and young men. Israel was never punished for its crimes. Its settlers go on the rampage every day in Hebron and elsewhere. They shoot innocent people and get away with cold-blooded murder. Today an entire people are under siege, denied basic services, food and medicine. And yet the world watches. Why are we then surprised to see angry Palestinians blowing themselves up in Tel Aviv, Netanya and Jerusalem? Unless the United States intervenes actively now, it will witness a sudden and irreversible deterioration in Palestine that may easily engulf the entire region. Meanwhile, it is shocking that Arab officials are sitting at home when they should be visiting world capitals to explain the dire consequences that will inevitably occur if the Palestinians are left under the mercy of an occupation power that has proven to be the most ruthless the modern world has ever known.

Note: Jordan has good reason to want an independent Jewish state in Israel, which protected it from Syrian aggression in the past and could prove an insurance against Syrian or Iraqi aggression in future. This kind of irresponsible anti-Israel propaganda in one of the two more important English language publications in the country may be a reflection of its fear of the Palestinians. But it can harm Israel-Jordan relations, which its author probably intended. The Palestinians are under siege because they started the intifada - not the other way round. Their Islamic extremists are perfectly capable of blowing themselves up in Amman as well as in Tel Aviv, so the Government of Jordan is rightly preventing the entry of Hamas leaders. Some wealthy Arab oil states can supply the Palestinians with as much money, food and medicine as they need. They don't - and for a good reason. Some West European states have been more generous because they want to score points off the Americans. They will get little gratitude from the Moslems.

The Jordan Times, Jordan, 15 June 2001
Summary of report from Amman by Saad G. Hattar

The Government yesterday denied entry to expelled Hamas leader Ibrahim Ghosheh who arrived unexpectedly from Doha, nearly two years after he was asked to leave the country along with three of his associates. Ghosheh, who faces prosecution in the Kingdom, arrived aboard Qatari Airways Flight 404, "to the astonishment of the authorities at Queen Alia International Airport."

The Qatari plane was scheduled to make a return flight to Doha at 4:30 pm, but remained on the tarmac because the authorities did not allow it to take off without Ghosheh on board. Ghosheh violated an accord with the Jordanian Government that set terms for the return of the Hamas leaders after they were accused of conducting illegal activities in the Kingdom. Meanwhile, a Cabinet minister reiterated the condition for the return of the expelled Hamas leaders with Jordanian citizenship: they must renounce their affiliation with the Palestinian resistance group.

The authorities were irritated by the situation, "especially when the pilot of the Qatari plane told them that he had strict orders from the Qatari Government not to take Ghosheh back." There had been no advance coordination between Jordan and Qatar concerning the return of any of the Hamas members. Now a diplomatic controversy with Qatar cannot be ruled out. A senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the return of Ghosheh as a "tactless" move. "Ghosheh should return to Qatar, even if the issue drags on for days," he said.

The departure of the Hamas leaders to Doha came about after Qatari mediation and an agreement with Jordan. Accordingly, a private plane carried Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs to Amman and took the Hamas leaders to Doha with him. Ghosheh, the official spokesman for the Islamist Palestinian movement, left Amman in November 1999 together with his colleagues - politburo leader Khaled Mishaal, Sami Khater and Izzat Resheq. Qatar's mediation led to the release of several Hamas activists who had been accused of belonging to an illegal organization and possession of arms and explosives for illegal purposes.

Hamas has close ties to the Muslim Brotherhood of Jordan and its political arm the Islamic Action Front (IAF). IAF Secretary-General Abdul Latif Arabiyat told The Jordan Times yesterday that he had no advance knowledge of Ghosheh's intention to return to the Kingdom. He said he did not plan to negotiate with the authorities for Ghosheh's entry.

The Muslim Brotherhood criticized the Government action, demanding that the issue be settled by dialogue and in line with "higher Jordanian and Palestinian interests."

In a written statement, the Brotherhood said the Jordanian reaction served the Zionist enemy's policies and undermines the Palestinian people's resistance to occupation.

As Jordanian citizens of Palestinian origin, the four leaders sought unsuccessfully to contest their expulsion through judicial channels. Speaking from Doha to the Qatar-based Al Jazirah Television channel, Mishaal said Ghosheh had Jordanian citizenship and thus the right to enter the Kingdom. "It is a violation of the rights in force in Jordan ... and a threat to all Palestinians who hold Jordanian passports," Mishaal charged.

Ghosheh's sudden arrival came three days after the Government announced new restrictions on the entry of Palestinians via the King Hussein Bridge. According to Minister of Interior Awad Khleifat, these restrictions, coming 81/2 months after the outbreak of the Palestinian intifada, were designed to abort any Israeli move to drive Palestinian citizens from their homeland.