AMMAN, Jordan, May 10 (UPI) -- Jordan's security forces arrested 20 members of Hamas involved in smuggling arms through Syria and storing them in Jordan.
Government spokesman Nasser Jawdeh told reporters Wednesday that investigations revealed that Hamas tried to recruit people in Jordan to carry out attacks against vital targets and sought to send Hamas members from the occupied territories to Syria and Iran to receive military training.
Jawdeh's comments coincided with meetings in Amman between a Palestinian security team and Jordanian security officials to discuss Jordan's accusations against Hamas.
The spokesman said Jordanian Intelligence Chief Mohammed Zahabi will fill in the Palestinian team on important details about Hamas' activities in Jordan for several years and will present secret documents and evidence proving the Islamic militant group's involvement in arms smuggling and stock-piling in the kingdom.
The Palestinian team is led by Intelligence Chief Tareq Abu Rajab, his deputy Tawfil Tirawi and a number of security officers.
The Hamas-led Palestinian government has refused to take part on the grounds that the accusations were addressed to the Hamas leadership abroad, and the group's leadership inside the territories was not involved in the issue.
Jawdeh said official television will Thursday broadcast live the confessions of one of the accused in the case, noting that investigation led to the discovery of new arms caches, which include Iranian-made Katyusha rockets.
Jawdeh refrained from making direct accusations involving Syria or Iran.
The Jordanian government announced last month that it discovered plans by Hamas to attack Jordanian officials and vital installations with arms it smuggled across the border and stocked in north Jordan.
