THE PUBLIC FACE OF HAMAS IN JORDAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 012970 STATE FOR NEA/ARN, S/CT E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR TAGS: PTER PGOV KPAL KISL KWBGXF JO SUBJECT: THE PUBLIC FACE OF HAMAS IN JORDAN REF: A) AMMAN 12819, B) JERUSALEM 3647, C) AMMAN 12624, D) JERUSALEM 3626, E) AMMAN 10029, AND PREVIOUS ¶1. (C) SUMMARY HAMAS SPOKESMAN IN JORDAN IBRAHIM GHAWSHAH REFRAINED FROM PRAISING THE OCTOBER 19 TEL AVIV BOMBING BUT HAS PREDICTED THAT HAMAS WILL CONTINUE TO UNDERTAKE SUCH OPERATIONS. DESPITE HIS WILLINGNESS TO OBLIGE THE MEDIA WITH THE KIND OF FLAMBOYANT RHETORIC THAT MAKES A GOOD STORY, GHAWSHAH HAS CONSISTENTLY MAINTAINED THAT HAMAS IN JORDAN IS NOT LINKED TO HAMAS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES EXCEPT IN THE MOST SUPERFICIAL WAYS. PLO "POLITICAL COUNSELOR" OMAR SHAKAA SEPARATELY REEMPHASIZED HIS BELIEF THAT WHILE THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AND HAMAS IN JORDAN ARE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME ORGANIZATION, THEY DO NOT CALL THE SHOTS IN THE TERRITORIES. OTHER REJECTIONIST GROUPS IN JORDAN HAVE REAFFIRMED THEIR SUPPORT OF JIHAD AS A METHOD OF RETAKING PALESTINE AND HAVE CALLED ON JORDANIANS AS WELL AS PALESTINIANS TO RESIST THE PEACE TREATY WITH ISRAEL. ¶2. (C) IN THE ABSENCE OF FIRM EVIDENCE OF A LINK BETWEEN GHAWSHAH AND HAMAS' MILITARY WING, THE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT SEEMS PREPARED TO TOLERATE RHETORIC THAT DOES NOT EXCEED THAT OF OTHER REJECTIONISTS HERE. ARAFAT'S RECENT ALLEGATIONS THAT HAMAS IN JORDAN IS SUPPORTING AND IN SOME CASES DIRECTING EVENTS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES ARE FLIMSY AND IGNORE THE FACT THAT KING HUSSEIN STANDS TO LOSE AS MUCH, IF NOT MORE, THAN ARAFAT IF THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY IS OVERWHELMED BY ISLAMIC RADICALS. END SUMMARY. -------------- HAMAS IN JORDAN RESPONDS TO RECENT ATTACKS... -------------- ¶3. (U) HAMAS SPOKESMAN IN JORDAN IBRAHIM GHAWSHAH HAS NOT PRAISED THE OCTOBER 19 BOMBING IN TEL AVIV, BUT HE HAS DEFENDED RECENT HAMAS ATTACKS BY ASSERTING THAT RESISTANCE OPERATIONS WILL CONTINUE AGAINST THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION. GHAWSHAH MADE THE FOLLOWING POINTS TO THE LATEST EDITION OF ENGLISH- LANGUAGE WEEKLY "THE STAR" (FULL TEXT IN FBIS AMMAN JN2310100694) AND REITERATED THEM IN STATEMENTS TO OTHER MEDIA, INCLUDING CNN: -- "THE OBJECTIVE OF THE WEST JERUSALEM SHOOTING LAST WEEK WAS TO SHOW THAT PALESTINIAN OPPOSITION TO THE PEACE PROCESS IS ALIVE AND KICKING." -- "THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS OPERATION (THE WEST JERUSALEM SHOOTING) WAS THAT IT TOOK PLACE IN THE HEART OF THE SO-CALLED ISRAELI ENTITY IN WEST JERUSALEM, NOT IN EAST JERUSALEM. ISLAMISTS ARE NOT ONLY DEMANDING THE RETURN OF EAST JERUSALEM BUT ALSO WEST JERUSALEM." -- "THIS OPERATION PROVED THE INSIGNIFICANCE OF COMPETITION BETWEEN JORDAN AND THE PLO OVER THE HOLY PLACES IN JERUSALEM. THE CAUSE IS NOT WHO CONTROLS THE HOLY PLACES, BUT HOW TO REDEEM THE CITY OF JERUSALEM, THE CAPITAL OF PALESTINE." -- "THE KIDNAPPING OF ISRAELI CORPORAL WACHSMAN WAS A POLITICAL ACT HAMAS WANTED TO BRING TO THE FOREFRONT THE ISSUE OF 5000 PALESTINIAN DETAINEES STILL HELD IN ISRAELI JAILS." -------------- --- ...AND TO ARAFAT'S EFFORTS TO RESTRICT THE GROUP -------------- --- ¶4. (U) GHAWSHAH ALSO HARSHLY CRITICIZED ARAFAT IN THE "STAR" INTERVIEW FOR ATTEMPTING TO CRACK DOWN ON HAMAS IN GAZ: -- "MR. ARAFAT DOES NOT WANT THE RELEASE OF THE PRISONERS BECAUSE 3,000 OF THOSE DETAINED ARE HAMAS SUPPORTERS." -- "ARAFAT HAS CROSSED THE RED LINES BY SANCTIONING SWEEPING DETENTIONS, COLLECTIONS OF WEAPONS, THE PERSECUTION OF HAMAS ACTIVISTS AND THE CLOSURE OF THE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY." -- "ARAFAT MUST NOW FACE HIS PEOPLE, WHICH IS WHAT PERES AND RABIN WANTED ALL ALONG: AN INTRA- PALESTINIAN STRUGGLE." -- "THE PEOPLE HAVE DISCOVERED THAT ARAFAT IS ACTING AS A COLLABORATOR FOR ISRAEL. THE PEOPLE'S ANGER INCREASED EVEN MORE WHEN THEY DISCOVERED THERE WAS COLLUSION BETWEEN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (PA) INTELLIGENCE AND ITS ISRAELI COUNTERPARTS DURING THE DIR NABALA (THE KIDNAPPING OF CORPORAL NASHON WACHSMAN) OPERATION. -------------- GHAWSHAH'S POSITION AS SPOKESMAN -------------- ¶5. (C) DESPITE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON GHAWSHAH AND HIS COLLEAGUE MUHAMMAD AL- NAZZAL LAST APRIL, LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CONTINUE TO SEEK OUT GHAWSHAH AS AN ACCESSIBLE SPOKESMAN OF THE HAMAS MOVEMENT AND BECAUSE OF HIS DEMONSTRATED WILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE SENSATIONAL COMMENTARY AND REACTION TO EVENTS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES. NEVERTHELESS, JOURNALISTIC SOURCES REPORT THAT GHAWSHAH CONSISTENTLY DENIES THAT HAMAS IN JORDAN HAS ANY CONTROL OVER OR DIRECT CONNECTION TO EVENTS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES, THOUGH THESE DISCLAIMERS RARELY APPEAR IN PRINT. ¶6. (C) ON THE DAY OF THE TEL AVIV BOMBING, GHAWSHAH WAS BESIEGED BY REPORTERS LOOKING FOR STATEMENTS. SOURCES STRESSED THAT GHAWSHAH FIRMLY REFUSED TO ISSUE A WRITTEN STATEMENT ON THIS OCCASION AND STUCK TO HIS USUAL PRACTICE OF COMMENTING VERBALLY. THEY POINTED OUT THAT IN THE RARE INSTANCES HE DOES COMMIT A STATEMENT TO PAPER, HE PREFERS TO RELEASE THEM IN LEBANON OR SYRIA. (COMMENT: EMBASSY HAS NOTED OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS THAT FORMAL HAMAS COMMUNIQUES RARELY ORIGINATE IN AMMAN. HOWEVER, THIS DOES NOT EXPLAIN THE HAMAS STATEMENT FAXED TO THE "JORDAN TIMES" THAT WAS CITED IN REF D. THE "TIMES" ARTICLE NOTED THAT THE STATEMENT HAS "NO DATELINE." -------------- VIEW FROM THE PLO IN JORDAN -------------- ¶7. (C) PLO "POLITICAL COUNSELOR" IN AMMAN OMAR SHAKAA ON OCTOBER 19 RESTATED TO POLOFF HIS BELIEF THAT HAMAS IN JORDAN EXISTS AS A WING OF THE JORDANIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD. HE ASSERTED THAT NEITHER HAMAS NOR THE BROTHERHOOD HERE EXERT ANY CONTROL OVER HAMAS IN THE TERRITORIES. HAMAS ALSO DOES NOT RECEIVE TRAINING OR MATERIAL FROM JORDAN. JORDAN'S HAMAS MOVEMENT THUS PRIMARILY MAKES RADICAL STATEMENTS IN SUPPORT OF OPERATIONS PLANNED AND CARRIED OUT BY HAMAS IN THE TERRITORIES WITHOUT REFERENCE TO THE OFFICE HERE, SHAKAA DECLARED. ¶8. (C) AS HE HAS BEFORE, SHAKAA MADE IT CLEAR THAT HE DID NOT BELIEVE THAT KING HUSSEIN OR ANY ELEMENT OF THE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT IS INVOLVED IN SUPPORTING HAMAS OPERATIONS IN THE TERRITORIES. SHAKAA BELIEVES THAT THE KING AND THE GOJ HAVE A TACIT AGREEMENT WITH THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD THAT ALLOWS HAMAS TO OPERATE HERE UNDER THE BROTHERHOOD'S UMBRELLA IN EXCHANGE FOR ASSURANCES THAT THE GROUP WILL NOT SUPPORT OR UNDERTAKE VIOLENCE IN JORDAN. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) ALTHOUGH GHAWSHAH'S WORDS TAKE ON ADDED SIGNIFICANCE BECAUSE HE ACTS AS HAMAS' "OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN," THE SENTIMENTS HE EXPRESSES ARE SIMILAR TO THOSE OF OTHER REJECTIONIST GROUPS IN JORDAN WHICH HAVE ATTACKED THE JORDANIAN-ISRAELI ACCORD AND LENT VERBAL SUPPORT TO ATTACKS IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES BY HAMAS' MILITARY WING. THE PRACTICAL EFFECT OF THE JORDANIAN GOVERNMENT'S HANDLING OF GHAWSHAH, IN THE ABSENCE OF COMPELLING EVIDENCE OF A MORE DIRECT CONNECTION TO HAMAS' MILITARY CELLS, IS TO TOLERATE GHAWSHAH'S STATEMENTS AS LONG AS THEY DO NOT EXCEED STANDARD REJECTIONIST RHETORIC. ¶10. (C) ALLEGATIONS THAT THE KING AND JORDANIAN SECURITY SERVICES HAVE HAD A ROLE IN THESE ATTACKS ARE EVENLESS CREDIBLE AND WERE DEALT WITH IN REF C. THE SUGGESTION THAT THE KING WOULD PLAY A DANGEROUS GAME WITH HAMAS TO EMBARRASS ARAFAT AND DESTABILIZE THE PA IGNORES THE FACT THAT THE KING HAS JUST AS UC TO LOSE AS ARAFAT IF HAMAS BRINGS DOWN THE PA. BOMBINGS AND ARRESTS INSIDE JORDAN THIS YEAR (SEE REF E AND PREVIOUS REPORTING ON THE "ARAB AFGHANS") BROUGHT HOME THE POINT THAT JORDAN HAS ITS OWN RADICAL ISLAMIST UNDERGROUND, PART OF WHICH MANY THINK IS A CLANDESTINE EXTENSION OF HAMAS. EGAN