Jordan dropped the testy relations it had with Hamas after the 2006 elections of Hamas after their was found to be evidence of weapons smuggling into the Jordanian Kingdom by Hamas Operatives.

Jordan's military court recently sentenced three Hamas militants to between five and 15 years in jail for conspiring to attack Israeli businessmen, Jordanian intelligence officers and other targets across Jordan. The Palestinian/Jordan relations have always been testy at best for the past 60 years.

King Abdullah has always been in an uncomfortable position,to the north Jordan faces Syria, which it previously accused of supporting Hamas terrorist operations in Jordan. To the east, there is Iraq; Jordan has been hosting nearly 700,000 refugees displaced by the fighting. To the south, there is Saudi Arabia, which like Jordan is a longtime Arab monarchy that has become a target of al Qaeda in recent years. Ironically, the most stable geopolitical situation in the neighborhood lies west of the Jordan River, where Israel retains security control. And looming over everything is the danger posed by the possibility that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons.

Problem flared into the open recently when American officers responsible for monitoring Israeli and Palestinian compliance with the "road map peace plan" went public with complaints that Palestinian security forces do not try to eradicate the armed wings of terrorist organizations like Hamas.
In response upward of 600 Palestinians have reportedly been training under U.S. supervision in Jordan to join an "elite" Palestinian security unit.

Israel, as part of a series of "goodwill gestures" agreed to permit the PA to reopen 20 police stations in part of the West Bank. Then, within a few days of that peace overture, Hamas — the very organization that drove Mr. Abbas's Fatah organization out of Gaza in June — staged a massive attack on Israeli troops guarding the Keren Shalom border crossing, where food, medical supplies and other forms of humanitarian aid are transferred from Israel to Gaza. Hamas used armored personnel carriers, acquired with Israeli permission by the Palestinian Authority during the 1990s, in carrying out the attack.

I doubt that Jordan will ever give military support of any kind to Hamas other than some degree of communication.

Posted by: Mackie at August 16, 2008 10:13 AM

Amman's main claims against Hamas are that Hamas is politically involved in Jordan, mostly by supporting the Jordanian Muslim Brothers and attempting to take control of the kingdom's trade unions...

Translation: We don't care what you do or how many people you kill anywhere else as long as you leave us the heck alone.

Posted by: PMK at August 16, 2008 10:38 AM

Is that a sign that another war of 1948 is in the making?

Posted by: Charles Martel at August 16, 2008 10:41 AM

Why is anyone surprised? Jordan, even after getting 2 Bil/year of American tax-dollars, is the "Muslim Brother" of HAMAS. If that is not enough, Arn't Jordan and HAMAS, of the same UMMAH?

Posted by: Alert at August 16, 2008 11:53 AM

These guys don't even remotely trust one another. This is just truce material. Hamas hates the Hashemite monarchy and Abdullah surely knows that Hamas and their ilk would do away with him and his family if the time were ripe to do so. Just another example here of how Muslims are as suspicious of each other as they are of kuffars. Same old same old.

Posted by: Wellington at August 16, 2008 11:58 AM

Another show of appeasement.

When the "Queen" leaves the Country for "Illness" or "Vacation", watch out.

Hamas will make sure Jordan gets involved when Hamas is ready.

Posted by: flowerknife_us at August 16, 2008 12:56 PM

Leaving aside the issue of the "pretty face", Western dressed, painted whore, Rania (a poisoned red apple, honey trap, etc.), shouldn't the headline be, "Jordan Restores Relations With Terrorist Group; U.S., Britain mull response"?

Well, in a perfect world, anyway.

Posted by: Concerned Citizen at August 16, 2008 1:39 PM

oh the fox made peace with the chickens, oops Hammas made peace with the Jordians. yeah when the time is ripe, the fox will go in for the kill.

Posted by: ZenaWarriorPrincess at August 16, 2008 7:21 PM

Wellington: Insightful.

I hope Andrew Exum (former SOF and current academic with a special interest in Lebanese politics) puts out some analysis on this soon.

Posted by: Not Telling at August 16, 2008 8:22 PM

well, maybe Queeny Rania is going to lecture them about being good Muslims?

Posted by: MorrisMinor at August 16, 2008 9:50 PM

Wellington,

Agreed. Abdullah and his intelligence apparatus will certainly keep a tight leash on Hamas operatives inside the Kingdom.

Posted by: Cornelius at August 16, 2008 11:55 PM

To the poster above who referred to the "Western dressed, painted whore, Rania" ...clearly your hijab is showing.

While Hamas and other pushers of Sharia label any woman who dresses western and wears makeup as a whore, no one here should buy into such Islamic crap.

It is the democratically elected parliament and its ministers who are reaching out to Hamas, not the monarchy. Sadly, the Hashemite monarchy was forced by its American benefactors to hold democratic elections. Just like in Iraq, every time Muslims get democracy, they vote for Sharia.

Abdullah is the only thing standing in the way of a full-fledged Hamas takeover. Already al-Qaida tried to kill him by blowing up a wedding party he was supposed to attend. Abdullah has maintained peace with Israel despite the wishes of the elected government and he should be respected for that.

Posted by: Provoslavni at August 17, 2008 12:09 AM

PROVOSLAVNI: "Abdullah is the only thing standing in the way of a full-fledged Hamas takeover."

Absolutely. And yet, we have many here at Jihadwatch, including its Vice-President, who advocate the termination of US aid to Jordan because Abdullah hasn't sufficiently embraced the anti-jihad. The fact that he maintains diplomatic and economic ties to Israel, continues to cooperate with us in the war on terror, and that cutting him off would either push him into the arms of the radicals or ensure his overthrow by them...seems to matter not one iota.

Posted by: Cornelius at August 17, 2008 6:15 PM

The fact that he maintains diplomatic and economic ties to Israel, continues to cooperate with us in the war on terror, and that cutting him off would either push him into the arms of the radicals or ensure his overthrow by them...seems to matter not one iota.

Posted by: Cornelius at August 17, 2008 6:15 PM

Abdulla isn't maintaining diplomatic and economic ties to Israel, for free. Jordan gets 2 bil of US tax dollars, every year.

Posted by: Alert at August 17, 2008 11:57 PM

ALERT: "Abdulla isn't maintaining diplomatic and economic ties to Israel, for free. Jordan gets 2 bil of US tax dollars, every year."

I think your numbers are inflated; Egypt gets 2 billion a year; Jordan, considerably less.

But your point is made...yes, we do subsidize the survival of the Heshamite Kingdom. Shall we terminate such aid and see his government replaced by a pro-Syrian, Hamas-dominated regime?

Posted by: Cornelius at August 18, 2008 10:06 AM

There are no moderate Muslims. The only moderate Muslims are those who recognize that Islam is evil and are willing to renounce Islam and change their names to non-Islamic names. These are the only moderate Muslims that can be trusted. Anything short of renouncing Islam and changing their names will produce offspring who will be indoctrinated in their Mosques in our own cities to hate and kill us – so much for moderate Muslims.

Posted by: American at August 18, 2008 1:01 PM