Jordan's King Abdullah fires intel chief over Hamas support

King Abdullah of Jordan fired the head of the country's intelligence service, Mohammed Dahabi, early in January.

The dismissal had not been understood; however, analysts and experts following developments in the Hashemite Kingdom, now suggest that the move stemmed from Dahabi's overly close ties with the Damascus-based Hamas leadership.

Dahabi was replaced by his deputy, General Mohammed Raqqad, who is considered to be a professional intelligence officer without political predispositions.

Hassan Barari, a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, published a paper late last week in which he outlines his assessment of the reasons for the dismissal.

Barari notes that Dahabi was the spirit behind a thawing of relations with the Hamas leadership. Ties were frozen eight years ago when the Hamas leadership was expelled from Jordan.

Last August, Dahabi met with Mohammed Nazel, one of the leading figures in the Hamas politburo in Amman. The meeting was supposedly an effort to develop a dialogue and understandings between Jordan and Hamas as a counterweight to peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Dahabi was concerned that an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that does not take into consideration Jordanian interests would turn out to be detrimental to the kingdom's interests.

Moreover, Dahabi exhibited a tendency to interfere in politics and was on bad terms with Bassam Awadallah, a palace staff member of Palestinian descent.

Dahabi suspected that Awadallah was promoting a pro-PA policy and sought to balance it via contacts with Hamas. Dahabi was also involved in a campaign in the Jordanian media targeting Awadallah.

Apparently the power plays in Jordan's inner circle led to the king's decision to replace the head of intelligence.

Another factor, linked to the timing of the dismissal, was the demonstration that Dahabi allowed to take place, involving Islamist groups protesting against Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip.