Khaled Mashaal meets Jordan king last night

30-01-2012,09:05
http://www.qassam.ps/news-5341-Khaled_Mashaal_meets_Jordan_king_last_night.html

Al Qassam website (Agencies) - Hamas politburo chief Khalid Mashaal lauded
the links between Jordan and Palestine after meeting with King Abdullah II
at the Raghadan Palace in Amman on Sunday.

Thanking the king for his charitable support to Palestinians and
guardianship of the holy sites in Jerusalem, Mashaal told reporters after
the meeting: "We hope to establish a strong relationship which will benefit
both the Jordanian and the Palestinian nations."

"We want to say that we care about the safety and security of Jordan and we
respect this relationship," he added.

Mashaal arrived in the Jordanian capital earlier Sunday along with the
Qatari heir to the throne Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Al Thani. They were
received at Marka airport by Jordan’s crown prince Hussein Ben Abdullah,
along with prince Ali Ben Hussein.

According to the Hamas-affiliated website Palestinian Information Center,
Mashaal met first with king Abdullah and Sheikh Tamim before they were
joined by Hamas’ delegation.

The delegation included Mousa Abu Marzouq, Sami Khatir, Izzat al-Rishiq,
Muhammad Nazzal and Muhammad Nasr.

Both Hamas and Jordan have denied that the Islamist movement may move its
headquarters from Damascus, where many of its leadership relocated from
Jordan after being expelled from the kingdom in 1999.

"The talk about the visit preceded the events in Syria and is not linked,"
al-Rishiq said.

Hamas and Jordanian officials said neither side discussed reopening the
Hamas office in Jordan.

Diplomatic and intelligence sources said Friday Mashaal has effectively
abandoned his headquarters in Damascus, as Syrian forces continued a
10-month crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.

"He's not going back to Syria," a regional intelligence source said of
Mashaal.

Meshaal, a Jordanian citizen, was deported to Qatar after a crackdown by
security forces on the movement in 1999 amid charges it harmed Jordanian
national interests.

The crackdown embittered many Jordanians of Palestinian origin, a majority
of the population, who saw it as a dangerous precedent in a country where
many native Jordanians oppose a larger political role for Palestinians.

Jordanian Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh's steps to co-opt Islamists to the
cabinet have drawn the ire of the powerful security and native Jordanian
political establishment that regards any comeback by Hamas as a boost to
Islamists.

Jordanian Islamists, who make up the main political opposition, have been in
the forefront of street protests demanding sweeping political reforms.

"There are forces that are not pleased with this visit and see themselves
losing as a result," said Zaki Bani Irsheid, a leader of the Islamic Action
Front, the political arm of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood.