Jordan Times
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Judeh says Arab
mediators trying to defuse Jordan-Hamas tension
By Khaled Nuaimat
AMMAN — The government on Monday said Arab
mediators were trying to defuse tension between Jordan and Hamas after the
movement smuggled arms and plotted attacks in the country.
“Several Arab sides carried messages to the government that there was a desire
by the Palestinian government and Hamas to end the so-called crisis,” Government
Spokesperson Nasser Judeh told reporters during a weekly press briefing.
“The Jordanian message was clear that there is a current security problem that
needs to be solved with the Hamas-led government and the movement itself.”
Judeh gave no further details, but reiterated Jordan’s demand for the
Palestinian government to dispatch a security delegation to help uncover more
Hamas-hidden arms.
Security services recently seized weapons smuggled into Jordan and arrested 20
Hamas suspects, who confessed on Jordan TV to plotting attacks in the country on
orders from movement leaders in Syria.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit yesterday held talks with Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas on bilateral ties and developments in the Palestinian
land, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
Abbas briefed the premier on the Palestinians’ difficult living conditions.
Following the meeting, Bakhit told reporters talks with Abbas focused on
international efforts to find a mechanism to deliver aid to the Palestinians.
“We will do our part in sending donations,” the premier was quoted by Petra as
saying.
He said the meeting with the Palestinian president was part of the coordination
between the two sides.