Hamas denies storing weapons in Jordan

Hamas has denied accusations by Jordan that the Islamic militant group had stored weapons on its territory and said it regretted…

Hamas has denied accusations 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.

"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".

A Jordanian government spokesman said yesterday security forces had seized rocket launchers and other weapons from a Hamas arms cache and had scrapped a visit by new Palestinian foreign minister and senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar.

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A Hamas official said the cancellation of Mr Zahar's trip was due to American and Israeli pressure on Jordan to avoid contact with the Hamas-led government.

Hamas, which took over the Palestinian government in March after winning January elections, was also accused of using Jordan to engage in anti-Israeli activities.