Exclusive: Jordan Denies Entry to Hamas Leader

JERUSALEM – Hamas leader Khaled Mashal was denied entry to Jordan, a diplomatic source in Amman told Breitbart Jerusalem.

Mashal made an official request earlier this month to visit the country and meet with King Abdullah, which was recently declined, Breitbart Jerusalem has learned.

Mashal was told that the king’s schedule would not allow him to meet, and therefore his entry application was denied.

A Hamas source accused the Palestinian Authority of hindering the visit in a bid to curtail Hamas leadership’s thaw with the Arab world, after a series of successful visits to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Turkey.

Jordan’s Al Rai news website reported that an aide to King Abdullah told Mashal that the meeting should wait for “better circumstances.” The website estimated that the grounds for refusal was Mashal’s intention to meet with Muslim Brotherhood leaders while in Jordan.

Meanwhile, Breitbart Jerusalem has learned that Khaled Mashal serving as a mediator in an attempt to prevent a split in the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. The largest opposition movement in the country, which was ousted from power two years ago, is divided over the approach it should take to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government.

Local activists seek a conciliatory approach with the government, while expatriated Brotherhood members, especially in Turkey, seek a more stringent stance. The latter wish to mark the fifth anniversary of the January 25, 2011 revolution with violent clashes with the regime, in a bid to revive the “revolutionary spirit.”

Contacted by Breitbart Jerusalem, a spokesperson for Hamas declined to comment on Jordan’s rejection of Mashal and his reported mediation attempts in Egypt.