Special to WorldTribune.com

AMMAN — Despite repeated government denials, Jordan has agreed to
accommodate Hamas leaders from neighboring Syria.

Islamic sources said Jordan allowed several senior Hamas members to
resettle in Jordan from Damascus in late 2011.

The sources said Jordan has been under pressure from both Qatar and
Saudi Arabia to host the Hamas leadership in Damascus. They said Doha has
been pumping hundreds of millions of dollars to facilitate the Hamas
transfer as part of a drive to oust the regime of President Bashar Assad.

The sources said the Hamas representatives, including deputy chief Mussa Abu Marzouk, pledged not to conduct any political activity from the Hashemite kingdom.

The sources said Jordan, a leading ally of the United States, was also prepared to host Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Masha’al, expelled in 1999. They said Masha’al, accompanied by Qatar Crown Prince Tamim Bin Hamid Al Thani, would arrive in Amman for meetings with the Jordanian leadership
sometime this month.

“As long as they do business outside the country and enter and leave quietly, they will be tolerated,” an Islamic source close to Hamas said.

“We have not been informed so far of the date of the Qatari heir
apparent’s visit, and his agenda is full until Jan. 15,” Jordanian state minister Rakan Majali said.

Majali said Masha’al would arrive in Jordan only through Tamim. The
Jordanian government spokesman said Masha’al would also be invited to meet
senior officials in the kingdom.

Under the agreement, the families of Masha’al and other Hamas leaders
would also be allowed to live in Jordan. Majali denied that Qatar offered
major incentives, including free natural gas to the Hashemite kingdom.

For his part, Masha’al said the 59-member political bureau would not
leave Damascus. On Dec. 29, Masha’al led a Hamas delegation to Khartoum as
part of an effort to establish a Hamas branch of the Brotherhood, with
headquarters in Egypt.

“What media outlets are disseminating about Hamas leaving Damascus isn’t
true,” Masha’al said. “Some individual Hamas people have indeed left
Damascus with their families, but that was for social reasons related to
schooling for their children and nothing political.”

  Amman, Crown Prince Tamim Bin Hamid Al Thani, Damascus, Exit strategy: Hamas leaders to slip into Jordan after pressure on Amman from Saudis, Hamas leaders slip into Jordan, Khaled Masha’al, Mussa Abu Marzouk, Qatar, Rakan Majali