Jordan’s King Cheers Barak’s Pace

Since his father’s death thrust him onto the throne eight months ago, King Abdullah II of Jordan has often played the middle man, privately and publicly encouraging Israel and its Arab neighbors to advance the long-stalled Middle East peace process.

Now, as he heads to the United States for his second visit since taking power, Abdullah says he is encouraged by recent agreements signed by Israel and the Palestinians and by the comparatively rapid pace of implementation set by the new Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Overall, the king said in an interview Wednesday with foreign and Jordanian journalists, “things are moving” on the peace front--and, he suggested, more rapidly than might be evident.

“The road is still very hard and long, so people have this instinct to try to downplay the peace process. But I think actually things are moving better than the atmosphere suggests,” Abdullah said, just before he boarded a plane for a brief stop in London and then a weeklong visit to the United States.

The 37-year-old monarch is due to meet President Clinton and other senior officials in Washington next week for talks that will focus on the peace process and on Jordan’s efforts to reform its troubled economy. He will also hold talks with American business leaders and attend the wedding of a high school friend, he said.

Abdullah appeared relaxed and upbeat as he engaged over muffins and quiche in a conversation that ranged from his hopes for Middle East peace to his impatience with Jordanian bureaucracy. He was accompanied at the interview by his wife, Queen Rania, and Prince Talal ibn Mohammed, who is the king’s cousin and national security advisor.

Addressing an issue that has taken center stage on Jordan’s domestic political scene, Abdullah said he will remain firm on a recent decision to crack down on the activities here of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, even though that decision has earned him criticism from domestic Islamic factions.

After years of official tolerance of Hamas by Abdullah’s father, the late King Hussein, Jordan acted decisively in September to rein in the radical group, sealing its offices and expelling or arresting several of its top officials on charges of membership in an illegal organization. The group is violently opposed to the peace process with Israel.

“Jordan has made itself quite clear,” the king said. “Hamas offices will be shut down. . . .

“The court and the law has to take its course,” but Hamas’ senior leadership will not resume its activities in Jordan, he added.

Jordanian officials have said that Hamas broke a promise not to engage in violence here or to challenge Jordanian sovereignty. Police who raided the group’s office in Amman, the capital, reportedly found numerous weapons, as well as documents and computer files that Hamas allegedly maintained on Jordanian government members and, in some cases, their families.

The group also was trying to radicalize the behavior of Jordan’s venerable Islamic opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood, officials said.

Saleh Armouti, a Jordanian attorney representing two imprisoned Hamas leaders, said in an interview Wednesday that the charges against them have been increased to include accusations of weapons possession and claims that the organization was training young people in the use of bombs. He said the charges are false and predicted that his clients would soon be released.

“This is a political case to satisfy Israel and the United States,” Armouti said. “If the government wants a political solution, it should come out and tell us that. It should not play games with the people.”

The king said that Hamas, which is supported by Iran, ignored numerous warnings that the government was prepared to act. Arrest warrants were issued--and publicized--last month when several of the leaders were visiting Tehran, in a clear indication that they should not return, analysts here said. But the Hamas leaders decided to come back. Two were arrested as they stepped off the plane; another, who was not a Jordanian citizen, was immediately deported.

On other issues, Abdullah said the Jordanian economy, burdened by $7 billion in debt, has gone “backwards” over the last 15 years and is now in dire need of debt relief from Western nations. He said his government is doing its part to reform the economy, including passing laws this summer aimed at lowering Jordan’s inflation and improving its investment climate.

But he asked Western governments to be “open-minded” and consider debt relief to help accelerate the recovery.

“It’s partly up to you to put us right,” he said.

In the interview, the king also sought to reassure Israelis, some of whom have reacted with concern to his efforts to improve relations with Arab neighbors. Jordan’s rapprochement with the Arab world since Hussein’s death does not mean a weakening of its relationship with Israel, the king said, or of his own commitment to the peace agreement his father signed with the Jewish state in 1994.

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Maher Abukhater of The Times’ Jerusalem Bureau contributed to this report.