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In his confession, leader of the group, Ayman Naji Daraghmeh, 34, a resident of Hashmieh town to the east of Zarqa, spoke about his links to Hamas, trips to Syria and monitoring of a General Intelligence Department (GID) officer, who lives in Salt. Daraghmeh met during Umra (Lesser pilgrimage) in Saudi Arabia another Hamas operative, identified as Abu Hassan, who told him that the officer “harmed the Hamas.” Daraghmeh, who said he received military and intelligence training in Syria, met Abu Hassan in Amman and took photos of the officer’s house. Daraghmeh said he delivered a camera disc to Wael Abu Hantash, a Hamas member in Damascus. Daraghmeh, arrested on April 18, said he later met in Zarqa a bus driver and took from him arms he smuggled from Syria.
A second suspect, Ahmad Mohammad Abu Rabie, 27, said he was arrested on May 6. Abu Rabie said he was recruited by Daraghmeh to buy weapons for Hamas and conduct surveillance of a bus that transported GID personnel. Both suspects said they planned to attack the bus. Abu Rabie also said Daraghmeh told him to carry out surveillance of tourists in Aqaba, with the aim of carrying out attacks there.
A third suspect, Ahmad Nimir Abu Thiyab, arrested on April 18, was a mosque imam in Mafraq. Abu Thiyab, who received a 20-day military training in Syria, said he got weapons and ammunitions for Hamas in Jordan, and that some of the arms came from Iraq. He was tasked by Daraghmeh to monitor foreign tourists in Aqaba and a Jordanian businessman, identified as Sami George Khouri, who owns a farm in Mafraq. Abu Thiyab said Daraghmeh thought the businessman was a Jew, but he was actually a Christian. “I told them he’s a Jordanian Christian and I had a good relationship with him, but Daraghmeh said he’s a Jew and a target for us,” Abu Thiyab said, quoting Daraghmeh as telling him that “the mission was for the sake of God and Islam.”
Abu Thiyab added that Daraghmeh offered him money to accept the “assignments.” “He knew I was having family problems because of [lack of] money. He encouraged me to leave my [Ministry of Islamic Affairs and] Awqaf job, which paid me JD100 a month and promised to give me JD150,” Abu Thiyab said. “Sometimes, they threatened me. They said I was involved in this and if they get caught, I will be arrested with them.”
Earlier Thursday, Government Spokesperson Nasser Judeh said a Palestinian security team headed by intelligence chief Major General Tareq Abu Rajab wrapped up a visit to Amman, where they were acquainted with the details of the case. Judeh told reporters on Wednesday that investigations also revealed attempts to bring recruits from the Palestinian territories to send them to Syria and Iran to receive “military, security and intelligence” training. But he did not accuse Syria or Iran of involvement in arms smuggling or training of suspects.
Agence France-Presse quoted a top Jordanian official as saying that “Jordan is not accusing Iran of implication in this affair, nor is it accusing Syria. We have established that the Hamas elements who were arrested came from Syria and that certain arms were of Iranian-make, but our accusations centre on Hamas, on which we place full responsibility for these attempts to destabilise Jordan.”
Meanwhile, Hamas Spokesman Mushir Masri told AFP that the Jordanian government was “trying to exaggerate the situation by causing an uproar but this will have only minimal consequences,” adding that he regretted the “means used” by Amman. The Hamas-led government had refused to send delegates with the Palestinian team. After the discovery of the arms cache, Jordan cancelled a planned visit by Palestinian Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar.
Also Thursday, acting Lower House Speaker Nayef Fayez said in remarks to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the House “categorically rejects any attempt by any party to destabilise Jordan.” He voiced the House’s full support for the government and the security service’s “dedicated efforts” that led to the discovery of the plots.