Growing Iranian Threat To Jordan's Stability And Israel's Security; For First Time, Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood Claims Responsibility For Terrorist Attack Against Israel

The security threat facing Israel from Jordan appears to be growing, with the ongoing and increasing efforts by Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) to destabilize the Jordanian kingdom in the service of Iran and to transform the country – entirely against its will – into a base for terrorist activity against Israel.

Recently there was a significant escalation of this subversive activity against  Jordan when, on October 18, 2024, two members of the Jordanian MB, Husam Abu Ghazala and Amar Qawas, breached the Jordan-Israel border to the south of the Dead Sea disguised as Jordanian soldiers, and opened fire on two Israeli soldiers. Immediately after the attack, spokesmen for the Jordanian MB and its political arm – The Islamic Action Front party – confirmed that the attackers belonged to the movement.[1] These unprecedented announcements reveal the involvement of the MB in terrorist attacks against Israel from Jordanian territory, which until now have been carried out by individuals unaffiliated with any organization.

Furthermore, Hamas – an outgrowth of the MB – revealed a direct connection between the perpetrators of the terrorist attack and its military wing, the Izz Ad-​Din Al-Qassam Brigades, when the brigades' spokesperson, Abu Obaida, issued a statement in which he praised the two Jordanian terrorists and stated that the Hamas military wing had received exclusive photos of the site of the attack taken by the terrorists when they were gathering intelligence prior to perpetrating it.[2]

It therefore seems that the attack south of the Dead Sea is the first practical manifestation of cooperation on the ground between elements in the Jordanian MB and in the Hamas movement with the aim of opening a front against Israel from Jordanian territory in the service of Iran. Since October 2023 and throughout the past year, Hamas officials have been addressing the Jordanian people directly and calling on them to escalate their activity and resistance, i.e., the armed struggle against Israel, from within Jordan and even that to block the border crossings with Israel. Similarly, MB officials – especially the head of the movement, Murad Al-Adaileh – have encouraged Jordanians to join "the war of liberation" against the "temporary entity" Israel, and organized activities and conferences that included incitement to wage jihad against Israel and smuggle weapons to the Palestinians in the West Bank.[3]

It should be noted that the MB's political arm, the Islamic Action Front party, scored an unprecedented achievement in the September 2024 parliamentary elections when it won the largest bloc of seats in the Jordanian parliament: 31 out of 138. Perhaps it is this development, which indicates broad support for the MB among the Jordanian public, that led the party to acknowledge that the terrorists belonged to the movement, and also led Hamas to acknowledge the connection between the terrorists and Hamas.

Over the past year, MEMRI has published numerous reports about the threat from the Iran-led camp to the stability of Jordan and about its efforts to turn this country into a new battlefront against Israel (see the appendix to this report).

 
Photos of the site of the attack posted on the Izz Al-​Din Al-Qassam Brigades website (Alqassam.ps, October 20, 2024)

Harsh Jordanian Response To Terrorist Attack South Of Dead Sea: We Won't Allow Anyone To Endanger The Future Of The Country

Official Jordan came out strongly against the statement issued by the MB acknowledging the terrorists' membership in the movement, which was understood in the kingdom as a claim of responsibility for the attack. At a cabinet meeting the day after the attack, Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said: "We will not allow to put the future of this country at risk. We will not permit anyone to replicate in our homeland the kind of chaos and destruction that surrounds us." He added: "All Jordanians without exception favor supporting and expressing solidarity with our brothers in Palestine, but incitement that endangers the security of the homeland and the welfare of its citizens is an entirely different thing. We will not accept this in any manner, from anyone… Jordan's security and stability, and the safety of its citizens, are above every consideration… We never have  and never will become an arena of chaos and recklessness.”[4]

The Jordanian concern about deliberate escalation by the MB was expressed in a wave of harsh media criticism of the movement, which has long been accused of subverting the sovereignty of the state in the service of the Iran-led resistance axis.[5] In an article in the Al-Rai government daily, former information minister Samih Al-Ma’ayta described the October 18 attack as "a coup against the state and the law" and claimed that “non-Jordanian organizations are establishing military cells [in the country] with the knowledge and cooperation of MB officials.” He added: “We are not like Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq or Syria, a country without sovereignty that is controlled by an organization [acting] under the instructions of an officer in [Iran's Islamic] Revolution Guard [Corps].”[6] In his column in the daily Al-Dustour, Jordanian journalist Hussein Al-Rawashdeh called on the MB to decide whether it is part of Jordan or of a cross-border organization for which Jordan is only one part of its plan. Everyone must understand, he wrote, "that any mistake against the homeland will be tantamount to treason."[7] In another column he wrote, "This is a dangerous phase and those who lie in wait [for us] are many. The Jordanians have no choice but to defend their country. How great is the difference between one who stands by the country… [and] one who pretends to wear the cloak of resistance [while] using Jordan as a human shield and detonating crises within it."[8]

Jordanian Senate member and former minister Muhammad Daoudia wrote in an article that the MB party "has almost become part of the resistance axis" and called its announcement "irresponsible and dangerous," "a provocation," and "incitement for young people to breach the border and carry out suicide operations that will give us [i.e., Jordan] a reputation of chaos and lack of control over our borders." He wondered whether the MB does not understand that its conduct may cause Jordan to activate emergency  regulations that will place the country under military rule.[9]

In an article titled "An Outlawed Movement," journalist Muhammad Hassan Al-Tal called to implement an old court decision to dissolve the Jordanian MB,[10] and added: "The members of the MB, which is operating outside the law, should avoid causing the state to designate their movement a terrorist organization, because [Jordan] is facing demands to do so, as well as regional and international pressures to take this [step]."[11]

Protesters in Jordan hold up pictures of the terrorists Abu Ghazala and Amar Qawas, alongside a picture of Maher Al-Jazi, who perpetrated a terror attack at the Jordan-Israel border crossing on September 8, 2024 (X.com/muradadaileh, October 25, 2024)

Following Wave Of Criticism In Jordan, MB Retracts Its Announcement Embracing The Terrorists

In response to the wave of criticism, the MB issued a clarification stating that the Dead Sea attack had been "an attack by individuals" and that the movement "is concerned, as ever, for the unity, security and stability of the homeland."[12] Islamic Action Front party secretary-general Wael al-Saqqa explained that "[the fact that] those who carried out [the attack] were members of the Islamic movement [i.e., the MB] does not mean that it was an organized operation on behalf of this movement.”[13] The movement head, Murad Al-Adaileh, who constantly incites jihad against Israel, said: "My message to Jordan’s young people is, do not be hasty. The battle is imminent. We Jordanians have a state, an army and a leadership." Addressing the criticism voiced against his movement and its party, he added: "I say to those who attack us:… Devote your pens to attacking Israel, which is the greatest threat to all of us in Jordan."[14]

Protesters in Jordan hold signs bearing pictures of Hamas spokesperson Abu Obeida captioned "The Pride of the Nation"  (Palinfo.com, November 24, 2023)

Jordan: Iran Is Behind MB's And Hamas' Action Against The Kingdom

Despite these denials from senior figures in the MB and its party, it is clear to the Jordanian establishment that the terrorist activities of Hamas and its parent movement, the MB, are being carried out in the service of Iran, which aims to undermine the kingdom's regime and to wage the conflict against Israel from its territory. This Iranian war on Jordan has been manifest in recent years in the activity of Iran-affiliated elements who smuggle arms and drugs over the Syrian border to elements affiliated with the MB and Hamas.[15] Other manifestations are the attrition of the  Jordanian security forces by Iran-backed militias that carry out repeated attacks across the Syrian and Iraqi borders,[16] and the  encouraging of mass protests in Jordan against the war in Gaza, which include calls for insurrection against King Abdullah and his regime.

The Jordanian Kingdom, which has been trying in recent years to thwart the Iranian attempts to destabilize it, has begun in the past year to speak out openly against the Iranian threat to its stability, and against Hamas and the MB, which operate in Iran's service. Jordan's allies, such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, have stood by it and sharply criticized the attempts by Hamas, the MB and Iran to exploit the war in Gaza to undermine Jordan’s stability, overthrow its regime, foment chaos and even instigate a new "Arab Spring" in the region.[17]

Furthermore, against the backdrop of these concerns about Iran, calls have been heard in Jordan to support Iranian opposition elements that seek to overthrow the Iranian regime, in order to counter Iran’s subversive activities against Jordan. For example, in June of this year Jordanian MP Aisha Al-Hasanat published an article on the Saudi website Elaph in which she sharply condemned the Iranian regime and urged to support Iranian oppositionists in order to topple it.[18] Jordanian diplomat and politician Bassam Al-Amoush, a former ambassador to Iran, wrote in a similar vein on a Jordanian website, calling to form ties with minorities and opposition groups in Iran in order to counter its subversive activity against Jordan.[19]

Appendix: MEMRI Reports On Threat Posed To Jordan By Iran, Hamas, MB

The following are MEMRI reports from the past year on the threat posed by the Iran-led axis to Jordan and to Israel from Jordanian terrotory.

Special Dispatch No. 11473 - Jordanian MP: Iran Is Waging A War Against Jordan; We Must Support Iranian Opposition Elements – July 3, 2024.

Special Dispatch No. 11226 - Calls For Terrorist Operations Against Israel From Jordanian Territory – Hamas And Muslim Brotherhood Officials, Clerics Close To Qatar: Jordanians Must Buy Arms And Undergo Military Training; Fighting Jews Is 'Islamic Duty' – March 25, 2024.

Special Reports - Reports: Assad Regime, Iranian Militias Have Sent Reinforcements To Al-Suwayda In Southern Syria In Order To Besiege Jordan - May 10, 2024.

Special Dispatch No. 11277 - Jordan Explains Its Participation In Thwarting Iran's Attack On Israel: We Defended Our Borders And People, Oppose Any Iranian Attempt To Violate Our Sovereignty – April 15, 2024.

Special Dispatch No. 11260 - Saudi, Emirati Writers Warn About Attempts Of Iran, Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood To Overthrow Jordanian Regime; This Is Tantamount To Declaration Of War On Jordan's Allies, Attempt To Instigate New Arab Spring – April 8, 2024.

Special Dispatch No. 11251, Jordanian Regime Furious With Hamas, Muslim Brotherhood: They Are Acting To Foment Chaos In Kingdom In Service Of Iran, April 4, 2024.

Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1757, Iran's Grand Plan: Bring Down The Jordanian Regime, Attack Israel From The East, And Thwart The Western-Sunni Normalization Project – And This Could Begin This Friday, Iran's Qods Day, April 3, 2024.

Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1746 - Jordan Increasingly Concerned About Iran Amid Activity Of Iran-Backed Militias On Its Northern Border – February 20, 2024.

Special Dispatch No. 11117 - Former Jordanian Ambassador To Iran: We Must Form Ties With Minorities And Oppositionists In Iran In Order To Repel Its Attempts To Undermine Jordan – February 5, 2024.

Special Dispatch No. 11034 - Lebanese Journalist: Iran Exploiting The War In Gaza To Undermine Stability Of Jordan – December 21, 2023.