Mishal: Hamas leaders harassed in Jordan

The chairman of the political bureau of the Palestinian Hamas movement has asserted that leaders of the movement in Jordan have been exposed to a campaign of harassment since the signing of the Wye River accord between the Palestinian government and Israel.

He described this harassment as "categorically unjustified." In a statement to the Jordanian weekly al-Urdon in its most recent issue, Mishal added that there were threats of preventing the return of leaders of the Hamas movement to Amman if they traveled outside the country, saying that the threats "are but rejected matters and do not serve the interests of those who made them."

"Such practices and harassment were not because of the attitude of the Hamas movement, rather because of the pressures made on Jordan," Mishal said, stressing that Hamas is still able to challenge despite "losses and damages which hit it following the signing of the Wye agreement."

He indicated that, "The militants of the Hamas movement are not affected by threats or temptations."