Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, called King Abdullah II of Jordan on Oct. 25. There has been a nearly complete break between Hamas and Amman since November 1999 when Abdullah expelled the political bureau, then headed by Khaled Meshaal, charging that the movement's members had plotted against the kingdom. The only reprieve, a brief one, occurred five years ago, when Abdullah allowed Meshaal to enter the country during a visit by his patron, Qatari Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. It was thought that the king did so in an effort to pacify the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan. Since then, there has been no contact between the two sides.

It was reported on Oct. 24 that Abdullah had rejected a recent request by Meshaal to establish an office in Amman “for building an organizational infrastructure anticipating Hamas’ joining Fatah institutions.” Then came Haniyeh's call from Gaza.

Haniyeh knows that the king has influence with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, so he tried to convince him that Hamas does not have a hidden agenda in advancing reconciliation. Haniyeh’s office even made public that he had told Abdullah that any talk of a diplomatic solution involving Jordan as an alternative homeland for the Palestinians amounts to a conspiracy to sow discord between the Palestinians and Amman. Haniyeh added that his movement regards the security of the Hashemite kingdom with utmost importance.

It is unclear what caused Haniyeh to bring up this last issue with the king, since it is totally unrelated to the reconciliation effort. It may be that he was trying to allay any suspicions that Abdullah might have that Hamas is plotting against him. As in the 1990s, Abdullah is today worried (as is Abbas) about Hamas striving to build an organizational structure that will enable it to strengthen its presence in the West Bank and to move to succeed Abbas as president.