Jordan: Our relations are with PA, not Hamas

Judeh says any upcoming visit by Mashaal to Amman will be a "quick one," Hamas won't soon have offices in Jordan.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Jordanian FM Nasser Judeh_311 (photo credit: Reuters/Susan Baaghil)
Jordanian FM Nasser Judeh_311
(photo credit: Reuters/Susan Baaghil)
Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh said Tuesday that Jordan has no intention of establishing bilateral relations with Hamas, and that any upcoming visit by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal's to Amman would be "a quick one," according to Dubai-based news website Al Moheet.
Judeh's comments came after the Jordanian officials said Monday the Foreign Ministry had set no date for Mashaal to visit Jordan in the near future.
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The Jordanian foreign minister, who returned to Amman after a visit to the West Bank on Monday, told Jordanian newspaper Al Ghad's TV broadcast on Tuesday that Jordan was committed to supporting the Palestinian Authority.
"There are no bilateral relations with Hamas. Our relations are with the Palestinian Authority," Judeh said.
On Monday, Judeh visited Palestinian Authority offices in Ramallah along with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the first diplomatic trip to the West Bank city since PA President Mahmoud Abbas assumed the presidency in 2000.
Both Judeh and Abdullah made comments during their trip affirming Jordanian support of a Palestinian state along the Green Line with east Jerusalem as its capital, and reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas.
 
Jordan's new Prime Minister Awn Kasawneh said earlier this month that the expulsion of Hamas's leaders in Jordan, and closing their offices was a political and legal mistake, interpreted by some as a softening of ties between Hamas and Jordan.
Still, the Jordanian foreign minister denied on Tuesday the possibility of reestablishing Hamas offices in Amman in the future, according to Al Moheet.
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.