Jordan's military prosecutor charged three Hamas men of a terror conspiracy involving attacks against Jordanian intelligence officers, Israeli visitors and unspecified sites in the kingdom, according to the indictment obtained Thursday. Jordanian authorities arrested 20 alleged Hamas operatives in April on suspicions they were monitoring Jordanian intelligence officers and foreign tourists for possible attacks. Only three remained in custody and the other suspects were released apparently for lack of evidence. The draft indictment sheet charged Ayman Naji Daraghmeh, 34, Ahmad Abu Rabee, 27 and Ahmed Abu Thiyab, a mosque preacher, of illegal possession of weapons and storing ammunitions.
In his televised confession, al-Daraghmeh had said he received his orders from a high ranking Hamas leader living in Syria. The accusations were denied by Hamas, which said Jordan was trying to undermine the Palestinian government it now heads.