KINGLET ABDULLARD OF JORDAN BREAKS PITA WITH HAMAS LEADER: JAMAL HALABY

http://news.yahoo.com/jordans-king-receives-hamas-leader-120924266.html

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — A senior Jordanian official says the country’s king has received Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, who is on his first official visit to the kingdom since his expulsion 13 years ago.

The official says talks with King Abdullah II opened in the presence of Qatar’s crown prince, who mediated Mashaal’s visit. He says the visit is meant to “break the ice” with the militant group banned in Jordan, Israel’s closest Arab peace partner.

The official — who spoke on condition of anonymity citing the visit’s sensitivity — said Sunday that Jordan will not allow Hamas to reopen offices in the kingdom.

Jordan is trying to engage with previously shunned Islamists, who have been gaining ground across the region amid the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled pro-Western dictators in Egypt and Tunisia.

 

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