Hamas chief, Jordan king talk Palestine reconciliation

By Mohamed Majed

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Wednesday phoned Jordanian King Abdullah II to discuss recent political developments in the region, especially the issue of inter-Palestinian reconciliation, according to a Hamas statement.

Earlier this month, Hamas and rival Palestinian faction Fatah signed a landmark reconciliation agreement in Cairo aimed at ending 10 years of fierce political rivalry.

During Wednesday’s phone call, Haniyeh stressed Hamas’s willingness to implement all the terms of the reconciliation agreement.

The deal -- if it holds -- will allow the Ramallah-based Palestinian unity government to assume political and administrative responsibility for the Gaza Strip, which for the last 10 years has been governed by Hamas.

In his call with the Jordanian king, Haniyeh also voiced his group’s rejection of what he described as “plans to turn Jordan into an alternative homeland for the Palestinians”.

The Hamas leader was referring to proposals -- intermittently tabled by Israeli officials -- to transform the Hashemite Kingdom into a Palestinian state.

“Jordan’s security is a part of our [i.e., Palestinian] security,” Haniyeh told the Jordanian monarch. “We are keen to see its security maintained.”

King Abdullah, for his part, reiterated Jordan’s stated position in support of the Palestinian national cause.

He also congratulated the Palestinian people on this month’s landmark agreement in Cairo.

The Fatah-run West Bank and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip have remained politically divided since 2007, when Hamas wrested control of the coastal enclave from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.

Hamas’s capture of Gaza in 2007 ended an earlier -- if short-lived -- unity government set up after Hamas swept Palestinian legislative elections in early 2006.