28 June 2001

Press Release

A responsible source in the Hamas Movement stated the following:

Two weeks after detention of Mr. Ibrahim Ghoushe in Amman airport while he was returning to his country Jordan after the Jordanian authorities’ refusal to allow him enter the country; the Jordanian authorities contacted the Hamas Movement expressing willingness to end the crisis. They offered a solution based on the Movement’s readiness not to allow any political or informational activity for brother Ghoushe in the name of the Hamas Movement in Jordan unless with approval of the Jordanian authorities. They also asked the Movement to agree to his departure from Jordan for three days at the most after which he would be allowed back into Jordan enjoying full citizenship rights in accordance with that agreement.

We said that such a step could take place without Ghoushe having to leave Jordan even temporarily especially when the Jordanian authorities could announce acceptance of an Arab mediation to end the crisis. However, to facilitate the matter from our side, especially after those authorities’ insistence on that condition, the Movement agreed after detailed dialogue that led to the written agreement signed by a representative of the Jordanian authorities and a representative of the Hamas Movement. The Movement retains a copy of the signed agreement. Brother Ghoushe was informed of the agreement in the presence of a representative of the Jordanian authorities and a representative of the Hamas Movement where he affirmed commitment to whatever the brothers in the political bureau deemed fit.

An agreement was also reached on implementation mechanism of that agreement. The Movement tabled Yemen as the country that would host Mr. Ghoushe for three days in appreciation of its mediation initiative and that country would guarantee the agreement. We started contacting our brothers in Yemen who welcomed the idea and affirmed their preparedness to start their mediation when they receive an official contact from the Jordanian leadership. We informed the Jordanian authorities’ representative with that. However, we were surprised at a late hour last night that the Engineer was carried to Bangkok instead of Sana’a in mysterious circumstances. The Movement’s contact with the Jordanian authorities was severed and the Engineer remained isolated from contacts with the Movement, his family or his lawyer until the present moment.

In such an atmosphere, the Jordanian government announced that it received a message from Mr. Ghoushe then declared its permission allowing him to return to Jordan from Bangkok in response to instructions of Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah. Consequently the return of Mr. Ghoushe is on the basis of not practicing any activity in the name of the Movement in the Jordanian arena in accordance with the position previously tabled with the Jordanian government by the Movement that was endorsed in the aforementioned agreement.

The Islamic Resistance Movement
Hamas – Palestine
Thursday 7 Rabee Thani 1422H
28^th June 2001AD

The agreement signed between the Jordanian authorities and Hamas representative on settling Mr. Ibrahim Ghoushe’s case

In the name of Allah the most Gracious the most Merciful

Brothers in the political bureau of the Hamas Movement have informed me of their agreement on the departure of brother Ibrahim Ghoushe to Sana’a for three days after which he would return to Jordan on condition that he would not practice any informational or political activity in the name of the Hamas Movement in Jordan.

On that the agreement was signed.

27/6/2001

on behalf of Hamas 
            signature 

on behalf of Jordan
            signature