Jordan Watch : Jordan-Hamas Play: It is all about Proof!

I have been putting too much time and effort in following all the fine details of the comments and analyses regarding the Jordan-Hamas fiasco of "smuggled weapons" and "threatening national security" from one side and the "conspiracy against Hamas" and "Jordanian fabrication" from the other side.

It has been such an amazing struggle of mental powers from hundreds of commentators and bloggers all over the media outlets and blogs. I can recall more than 100 explanations and counter-views, most of them favoring Hamas but still there is very little evidence available. I would like to summarize the situation, while not claiming to be impartial.

1- Hamas, and its branch in Jordan called the Islamic Action Front (IAF) have won the battle for the public opinion with minimal effort. The majority of the Jordanian population is passionate about Hamas, eitehr due to having a large percentage of Jordanians from palestinian origins, or due to the fact that Hamas has a genuine clean record in relation to Arab regime. The mainstream Hamas leadership has never interferred in Arab national security issues, and why should they start now.

2- The "political argument" proposed by Hamas and its branch in Jordan has been sound in the early days, and they have used a smart system of denial and couner-accusations, linking the Jordanian public story with international pressures on the Hamas government, making Jordan as another key figure in the internatioanl conspiracy against Hamas. Almost all Arabs outside Jordan are supporting this explanation.

3- The Jordanian governemnt has been pathetic in its public relation campaign. It has provided too little information to meet an exaggerated case of violating national security claims. The governemnt waited for two weeks before airing "confessions" of Hamas-affiliated memebrs. The confessions were such an anti-climax with the three members talking about meetings with Abu AlAbed and Abu Anas and not being able to mention a clear link to Hamas leadership except a man called Wael Abu Hantash whose name is not familiar.

4- The three members looked most likely to be of the simple, poor and uneducated crop on which AlQaeda and Zarqawi thrive on. There has not been any mature political culture which is a main element of real Hamas members.

5- During the course of the process, a distinction was evident between Hamas leadership in Palestine and Hamas figures in the Syria-Iran nexus. It can be a great possibility that an Hamas-affiliated Qaeda-mentality network is being built by Iran and Syria. In this case Hamas leadership in Palestine should be responsible enough to be serious in investigating this option.

6- The main evidence yet on Hamas involvement did not come from the Jordanian security and governemnt but from Hamas itself. The refusal of the Hamas government to join the Palestinian security delegation to work with Jordanians to investigate the case has a lot to explain. If Hamas is so sure of its honesty it should jump to this opportunity to refute Jordanian claims and embarrase Jordan but they opted to stay away, why?

7- On the other hand, Jordan's proposal for Hamas to join the team to learn about the plot is an indication of self confidence. Jordan will never take the risk of providing false information that can be refuted easily by Hamas.

8- Many people have their positions shaped by national and ethnic elements. Some by "organizational" and religious beliefs and most of them do not believe the Jordanain government. Even if conclusive evidence is being submitted it will always be a tough task to convince such people with the credibility of the Jordanian version of the story.

9- The most dangerous course of action is for this case to turn into a Jordanian-Palestinian polarization issue. It is already being done, and it is of vital importance to separate the political problem between the Jordanian governemnt and the Hamas leadership from the relations between the Jordanian state and the Palestinian authority as well as the relations between the different backgrounds of the people in Jordan.

10- What is the end of this story? Either the government will prove it is right and provide conclusive evidence proving the guilt of Hamas leadership or the issue will fade away and the Jordanian governemnt losing its reputation while Hamas gains more political support and this will make Jordan more vulnerable to terrorism from outside and more polarized from inside.

Where do I stand? As a Jordanian citizen my main concern is the stability and credibility of my country. I am a big critic of the government in demoestic socio-economic and political issues but when faced with a decision on security issues I will give my government the benefit of doubt instead of supporting a non-Jordanian organization. However, I do not see that the governemnt has provided concrete evidence yet and we all know this saga will not be settled without conclusive evidence.