Hamas denies Jordan's sabotage plots
4 Min Read
Hamas denies all allegations raised against it after Jordan claimed the movement was behind a foiled weapon smuggling attempt.
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Illustrative photo of the Jordanian capital Amman, as the motorcade of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken leaves after a visit to a World Food Program (WFP) regional warehouse in Amman, Jordan Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024 (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
In a statement, Hamas condemned reports accusing it of having any relation to sabotage plots that have been planned to be carried out in Jordan.
Previously, Jordan claimed it had foiled a weapon smuggling attempt allegedly planned by Hamas to incite acts of sabotage against the ruling pro-Western monarchy, the state-owned news agency PETRA reported on Wednesday. Conversely, a senior Muslim Brotherhood representative said the arms were probably meant for the West Bank.
Two informed Jordanian sources additionally told Reuters that the alleged smugglers had been arrested back in March, after attempting to smuggle arms into Jordanian territories to a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood, claiming they were linked to the Hamas movement.
The Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood issued a statement responding to the allegations, saying the group did not have any ties to the operation.
A senior representative said the Muslim Brotherhood did not approve any of the smugglers' actions, stressing that this was an individual decision. He further noted that the weapons were probably meant to be delivered to the West Bank rather than be used in Jordan.
Another senior member said the arrested individuals were recruited by martyr Saleh al-Arouri, who was assassinated earlier this year by "Israel" in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon.
The Jordanian sources did not reveal the specific acts of so-called 'sabotage' but claimed that they were aimed at destabilizing Jordan, which could become a central part of the Israeli war against Gaza for hosting a US military base and sharing a border with occupied Palestine.
The types of weapons confiscated were also not revealed. They mentioned, however, that several batches of weapons were caught in different smuggling attempts, including Claymore mines, C4 and Semtex explosives, Kalashnikov rifles, and 107mm rockets.
Jordanian authorities claimed that Hamas was trying to recruit young Muslim Brotherhood members to allegedly expand Iran's ally network in the region.
Hamas, on the other hand, denied the allegations and affirmed that it was not linked to any acts against Jordan.
Jordan intercepts Iranian drones launched at the Israeli occupation
It is worth noting that Amman reportedly opened its airspace to the Israeli Air Force and participated in attempts to down Iran's drones and missiles against Israeli targets on April 13, according to Western Media.
Back then, Jordan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, Ayman Safadi, justified his country's actions as necessary to "ensure the well-being of its citizens."
Western media outlets then reported on April 15 that Iran's retaliation did not inflict much damage on "Israel", and although the occupation has a long-established policy of greatly underreporting the damage it suffers, as part of its propaganda campaign to appear as a fortress, The Wall Street Journal reported that the "successful" deterrence of Iran's attack goes back to the assistance "Israel" was provided by the United States and allied Arab states.
"American, British, and Jordanian warplanes played an especially important role in downing drones," WSJ said, underlining that the majority of Iran's drones and missiles were destroyed before reaching Israeli airspace due to the assistance it received.
Moreover, France intercepted the drones launched by Iran toward the occupied Palestinian territories in retaliation "at Jordan's request," French President Emmanuel Macron said on April 15.
