Jordan Kicks Mossad out and Yatom to take fall for Netanyahu
Jordan, Politics, 10/10/1997

Israeli Mossad agents operating in Jordan have reportedly left Amman upon orders from King Hussein who demanded that all Mossad activities in the kingdom be brought to an end in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Hamas political leader in Amman, Khaled Mishal. Israeli sources in Tel Aviv claimed that the presence of Mossad agents in Amman was known to the Jordanian authorities and that they worked closely with Jordanian security officials. The Israeli version of the assassination attempt had distanced the Mossad agents in Amman from the opration but King Hussein had not been convinced and asked that those be pulled out of Jordan immeidately.

Senior Jordanian sources said that King Hussein has demanded that all the Mossad members who were involved in the assassination attempt on Khaled Mishal be fired. According to the sources, the King has not yet forgiven and has even told Israel that there will be no security cooperation between the two countries for as long as persons connected to the assassination attempt remain in the Mossad, including Mossad head Danny Yatom.

Israeli intelligence capability has as such faced a major setback, Israeli intelligence sources said lately, noting that the Mossad station in amman had been used to collect information not only on Jordan but also on Syria, Iraq and Iran. "Without the station operating in Amman, the Mossad will have to go back to the old days when it was extremely difficult to collect information on those countries," intelligence sources said. Those sources were among a number of Mossad officials who had opposed to the assassination attempt and argued that even in case of full success, the attack would torpedo Israel's relations with Jordan, the only country that supposedly has warm peace ties with the Jewish state. The sources claimed that prior to the assassination attempt, excellent relations developed between Mossad agents in Jordan and their counterparts in the Jordanian intelligence and security forces. The departure of Mossad agents from Jordan has caused security damages to Israel, they said. Jordanian intelligence sources , however, were quoted by Hebrew papers on Friday as saying there is a deep crisis of trust, and a complete cut-off in cooperation between Jordan and Israel, following the exposure of the affair.

Reports circulating in Israel said the Jordanian authorities were angry at he assassination attempt also because of the fact that Mossad head Dany Yatom was former prime minsiter Yitzhak Rabin's military secretary with whom they became acquainted long before the warm negotations between the two sides led to the peace treaty in 1994. The disclosure that Yatom was responsible for sending the hit squad to Jordan had reportedly stunned the King and the various security agencies in Jordan. The feeling of lost trust also caused the Jordanians to suspect that the Mossad compound in their country was connected to the affair. At one point, they even refused to believe that Ambassador Oded Aran didn¹t know anything about the operation. This is due to the fact that four of the participants in the failed assassination took refuge in the Israel embassy in Amman.

Israeli press on Friday noted that Jordan has shown a reluctance to burn bridges with Israel altogether. The papers noted that the visit to Jordan by Israel air force commander had not been canceled, and that on Thursday, many Jordanian officials, and the King¹s sister, visited the Israeli stall at an international sport conference being held in Amman. Profits from the exhibition were to go to help orphans in Jordan.

Meanwhile, Canada and Israel are likely to settle the diplomatic crisis that erupted between the two countries in the wake of the usage of Canadian passports in the failed Mossad operation in Jordan. Israeli foreign minister David Levy and his Canadian counterpart Lloyd Axelworthy are expected to sign a joint statement in which Israel will express willingness to reach an understanding with Canada on consular affairs (a hint that Israel will promise not to use Canadian passports in the future). Israel will also express sorrow in the statement over having gotten Canada involved in the affair.

Previous Stories:
  Hussein confirms: I sent a Hamas offer to Netanyahu   (10/9/1997)
  SPECIAL REPORT part 3: The downfall of Netanyahu: Mossad's assasination fiasco in Jordan   (10/3/1997)
  Special Report: Who were the four suicide bombers? New revelations   (9/25/1997)

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