Hamas statement on leaders' arrest

The chairman of the political bureau of the Hamas movement in Jordan, Khaled Mashaal, has announced in an interview with Monte Carlo radio that the return of the movement's members to Jordan is a natural right and therefore "nobody can prevent us from this right."

He indicated that the "arrest warrants against us are not judicial notes, rather a political matter." He added, "As everybody knows, the Jordanian step, regrettably, came under US and Israeli pressure as well as pressure from the Palestinian Authority as part of requirements of the final negotiation phase in an attempt to partition a strong movement of the volume of Hamas so as this movement will not have its clear stand towards this sensitive phase which aims at liquidating the cause of Palestine in the course of the so-called final solution."

He continued that there is no dispute between Hamas and the Jordanian government, "rather the whole matter is a foreign and political matter," expressing hope that the decision-maker in Jordan will resort to reason and logic, saying "all social strata in Jordan know well that the Hamas movement is very careful to maintain Jordan's unity."

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Hamas movement also held the Jordanian government responsible for the safety of three Hamas leaders. The Hamas representative in Jordan, Abu Muhammad Mustafa, called on the Jordanian government not to harass the three Hamas leaders.