CIAO DATE: 12/2008
August 2008
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
This PolicyWatch is the first part of a two-part series on Hamas.
Last week, Jordan's minister of information publicly confirmed that senior Jordanian officials have been meeting with Hamas in an effort to "solve pending security issues." These talks represent 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. Although the decision to renew contacts with Hamas suggests that Amman remains concerned with Hamas-related activities in the kingdom, the timing also highlights domestic and regional pressures on King Abdullah and the Jordanian government.
Resource link: PolicyWatch #1400: Amman Warms to Hamas [PDF] - 24K