Jordan says it finds large Hamas weapons cache

[barb162]

Jordan says it finds large Hamas weapons cache

Wed Apr 19, 2006 12:55 AM BST
By Suleiman al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan accused Hamas on Tuesday of storing arms on its territory and cancelled a visit by the foreign minister of the new Palestinian government led by the Islamic militant group.

Government spokesman Nasser Joudeh told the state news agency Petra that "rocket launchers, explosives and automatic weapons" had been seized recently by Jordanian security forces from a Hamas arms cache they discovered on Jordanian soil.

Jordan said the discovery was a serious breach of pledges by the Hamas-led Palestinian government not to meddle in Jordan's internal affairs.

"These activities contradict the positive commitments by the new Palestinian government not to use the Jordanian arena for any purposes that harm Jordan's security or for meddling in its internal affairs," Joudeh was quoted as saying.
snip

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-04-18T235456Z_01_L18544974_RTRUKOC_0_UK-MIDEAST-JORDAN-HAMAS.xml

[barb162]

1. Al Jazeera's take on it "Jordan cancels Palestinian FM's visit"

Jordan cancels Palestinian FM's visit

Wednesday 19 April 2006, 0:43 Makka Time, 21:43 GMT


Jordan says it has cancelled the Palestinian foreign minister's visit because members of his Hamas party have been smuggling missiles and other weapons into the kingdom.

snip

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8B349418-E415-41EB-9DA1-D6430555263D.htm

[Rick Myers]

2. OK! Who is selling this crap???

I mean, in the streets??? We know it's Carlyle Group and South African hardware, but how is thid crap getting out there to the consumer in the street? I need a couple .50 cal rifles, a gross of RPGs with 12 launchers and 20 pounds (more or less) of Semtex or C-4? WHO GETS THE WEAPONS TO THE STREET???

[barb162]

3. I have read the Iranians, Syrians, Egyptians, etal

There have been several stories of tunnels and smuggling around (under) the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt; getting some serious weapons in that way.
(edit)I certainly don't know the smuggling methods and routes.

[Phx_Dem]

4. And who provides the funding?? nt

[Phx_Dem]

5. Hamas response

"Hamas on Wednesday denied "provocative" claims by Jordan that the Islamic militant group had stored weapons on its territory and said it regretted Amman's cancellation of a visit by the Palestinian foreign minister, a member of Hamas"

"Hamas rejects and condemns the provocative accusations by the Jordanian authorities," the group said in a statement.

"Hamas has never targeted Jordan, and it has neither targeted Islamic nor Arab countries or any other country in the world," the statement said, adding that the group had always limited its battle to against "the Zionist enemy."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/707162.html