Al-Qallab criticizes Ghoushe's return back
Jordan-Qatar, Politics, 6/16/2001

Jordan's former minister of information Saleh Qallab has criticized the attempt of the spokesman of the Hamas movement Ibrahim Ghoushe to return back to Jordan.

In an interview with the Qatari TV satellite station al-Jazira on Friday al-Qallab said that Ghoushe was sent on Thursday from Doha in a Qatari plane without coordination with Jordan and amid very difficult conditions, while Jordan is standing in support of the Palestinian people.

On his view point regarding Ghoushe's entry to Jordan, al-Qallab said " either Ghoushe announces that he has no more relations with Hamas, which means that he is a Jordanian citizen and he will be able to enter Jordan, or to cling to Hamas and in this case he has to return back to Qatar." On the other hand, a high ranking Qatari source at the Qatari foreign ministry expressed his regret over Jordanian official statements concerning Ghoushe's arrival to Jordan coming from Qatar and of not permitting him to enter Jordan.

The Qatari official who asked not to be identified said that the state of Qatar " had, in appreciation to the good relations with Jordan accepted to host Ghoushe, together with a group accompanying him from the Hamas movement on its territories for a provisional period, because of Jordanian conditions since one and a half years."

Worthy mentioning that Ghoushe and the Qatari plane which took him from Qatar to Jordan are still at the Jordanian Alia airport.

Meantime, the Monte Carlo radio correspondent in Amman talked about the beginning of a diplomatic crisis between Jordan and Qatar on the background of the return of Ibrahim Ghoushe to Jordan and the refusal of the Jordanian authorities to let him enter the Kingdom. Ghoushe is one of the key figures of the Palestinian national resistance movement.

The correspondent quoted the Jordanian minister of information Taleb al- Refai as saying that Ghoushe's return to Jordan this way seemed to be made at the arrangements with the Qatari government and that his country does not accept any body to impose its conditions and therefore it will not permit the Qatari plane which is landing at Alia's International airport to take off, unless Ghoushe is on its board.

Moreover, Jordanian sources said that Jordan will not permit Ghoushe to return back to Jordan only in case he gives up his membership in the Hamas movement, noting that the Jordanian authorities will bring him before the court if he will cling to his stances not to return to Qatar and not giving up his membership in Hamas.

For his part, the Monte Carlo radio correspondent in Doha quoted the chairman of the Hamas's political bureau Khaled Mashaal that Ghoushe's decision to return back to Amman came after the failure of all attempts to reach a settlement with the Jordanian government.

Previous Stories:
  Jordan prevents Ghoushe from entering Jordan   (6/15/2001)
  Jordan prevents the entry of the West Bank Palestinians before getting a prior consent   (6/13/2001)
  Jordan's opposition to impose smart sanctions on Iraq   (6/13/2001)
  Attempts to settle the conditions of Hamas leaders   (1/15/2001)
  Jordanian King to attend OIC summit in Doha   (11/8/2000)
  Amman stresses its position concerning Hamas leaders   (5/4/2000)

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