Jordan Holds Secret Meetings with Hamas, Fearing Influx from Gaza

Jordan has been holding secret meetings with Hamas at the risk of alienating the Palestinian Authority, the Bush administration and the Israelis. Analysts believe the move is an attempt by the Jordanians to head-off a potential influx of Palestinians charging into Jordan and even attempting to seize control there if the peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel break down. Hamas is banned in Jordan. The clandestine meetings also come at a time when the idea of creating a federation between West Bank Palestinians and Jordan as an alternative to a Palestinian state is again being bandied about as no progress in being made on the Israel-Palestinian-U.S. track, the measure of success of which is the creation of a Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority and the Israelis have both let Jordan know that they are not happy about its contacts with Hamas.