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Jordan cancels minister's visit

A diplomatic spat erupted on Wednesday between Jordan and the Islamic Hamas movement, after Amman canceled a visit by Palestinian Foreign Minister and senior Hamas figure Mahmoud al-Zahar, amid charges that Hamas was smuggling weapons into the Hashemite kingdom.

A Hamas spokesman condemned the accusation but Jordan's lower house of parliament rejected what it described as an "encroachment" on the country's security.

At the same time, however, the chamber called for boosting Amman's ties with the new Palestinian Hamas-dominated government.

Al-Zahar's visit to Amman, scheduled for Wednesday, was postponed indefinitely after Jordanian spokesman Nasser Judeh announced that security authorities had "spotted several attempts by Hamas elements to smuggle various types of weapons and store them in Jordan."

The weapons included missiles, explosives and machine guns, he said.

"Security services also observed at different stages activities by Hamas elements in Jordan, including surveillance of vital targets in Amman and other cities," Judeh said.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu-Zuhri told reporters that his movement condemned and rejected the Jordanian accusations.

The charge was "baseless" and could not be believed, he said, "because it is known that Hamas is keen not to interfere in others' affairs and keeps the battle only against the Israeli occupation."

"We are sorry Jordan used this technique to justify cancelling the visit of the foreign minister at the last moment," he added.

Jordan's largest political party, The Islamic Action Front (IAF), described the government's accusation of arms smuggling as a "fabrication."

"We cannot trust the allegation that Hamas elements have been targeting vital Jordanian sites, because the avowed policy of Hamas is to develop close ties with Jordan and other Arab and Islamic countries and not to attack any targets outside Palestine," IAF Secretary General Zaki Bani Irsheid said.

The Jordanian government congratulated Hamas for its January election victory, but refrained from any official dealings with its figures pending the publication of the program to be adopted by the new government.

However, Jordanian Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit sent a message of support to his Palestinian counterpart, Ismail Haniyeh, after his government took office at the end of last month.

The Jordanian government's decision to defer Zahar's visit followed Hamas' failure to condemn Monday's suicide bombings in Tel Aviv that was unequivocally denounced by Jordan.

It is also reminiscent of Jordan's deportation in 1999 of four Hamas, leaders including Politburo chief Khalid Mishaal, after accusing them of illegal practices.

The Islamic-led opposition then charged that the step was taken in response to Israeli and US pressure.

Since Hamas triumphed in the Palestinian polls, Amman has refused to allow Mishaal to visit Jordan and insisted on resolving "outstanding legal problems" between the two sides before such a visit takes place.

The Israeli government's recent decision to sever all contact with the Hamas-led government seems to have caused embarrassment for Jordan and Egypt, the only two Arab states that have so far concluded official peace treaties with the Jewish state.

This explains Zahar's failure to meet with any Egyptian official when he visited Cairo at the outset of his trip earlier this week, US-based diplomats said.

They predicted that the latest Jordanian step would exacerbate the isolation of the Hamas government, which faces thorny political and economic problems at home.
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