Hamas has no chance of finding a new home in Jordan, says BICOM Israel Office Director Jonathan Cummings in the Commentator.

–  “The visit by King Abdullah of Jordan to Ramallah this week is a rare event. This is only the second time he has travelled to the Palestinian Authority, following a courtesy visit to Yasser Arafat soon after succeeding his father. 

For much of his reign he has prioritised improving his country’s economy and maintaining delicate domestic and regional balances.

But speculation that the Hamas leadership may be leaving its base in Damascus, a possible unity deal between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, and recent comments by Jordanian prime minister Awn Khasawneh that expelling Hamas from Jordan in 1999 was ‘a political and legal mistake’ have led to fevered speculation that a high-level visit to Amman planned for Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal is a sign that Jordan is re-opening the door for Hamas.

There are two reasons why a rapprochement between the Hashemite Monarchy in Jordan and the Islamists of Hamas is not going to happen – the economics and the politics.”

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