The Palestinian Authority yesterday welcomed the improving relations between Jordan and Hamas movement saying that the Jordanian move “was another Arab attempt to end the unnatural situation in Gaza.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ media adviser, Nimer Hammad, said that “we (Palestinian Authority) don’t fear the dialogue between Jordan and Hamas, instead, we welcome any effort that could persuade Hamas to step back.”

Hammad said that Hamas’ violent takeover of Gaza Strip “directly affects the situation in Egypt and Jordan, so the Palestinian Authority (PA) hopes such dialogue can be an entry to convince Hamas to step back from what it carried out in Gaza.”

Egypt, which shares its northern border with Gaza, has been involved in a series of mediations between Hamas and the PA and between Hamas and Israel. But Jordan has severed its ties with Hamas in 2006 when the authorities there charged a Hamas-linked cell of planning to carryout attacks in the Jordanian capital.

Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabian newspaper Al-Watan reported that Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Meshaal is expected to visit Jordan for first time in a decade. Meshaal is expected to hold talks with Jordanian officials in completion of talks held by Hamas officials and the chief of Jordanian intelligence, Mohammed Al-Dhahabi.

The report added that the visit became possible after Meshaal agreed to the Jordanian demands that he would honor its authority and his movement would not interfere in the Muslim Brothers’ activities in Jordan. In another development, Israeli officials said that the Israeli navy has been ordered to turn back two boats carrying 44 pro-Palestinian foreign activists who are attempting to “break the siege of Gaza.” The officials said the navy had a number of options in dealing with the boats, which have set out from Crete, en route to Gaza, via a stopover in Cyprus. The boats are due to approach the Strip in the second half of this week.

Israeli officials said Sunday that the Mediterranean waters around Gaza fell under Israeli sovereignty due to an agreement with the PA. Gaza has also been declared a combat zone, giving the navy the legal right to patrol the sea around the Strip, the officials said.

The officials dismissed the claim by the Free Gaza Movement organization, which organized the boats, that they were on a humanitarian journey. They said Hamas was keen to exploit the boats to undermine Israel’s blockade of Gaza.

Egypt has, meanwhile, warned Hamas that it must stop obstructing progress in the deal to release abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit in exchange with Palestinian prisoners, and uphold its end of the Egyptian-brokered truce with Israel, a report said yesterday.

The Israeli daily Haaretz quoted a senior Israeli official in Jerusalem as saying that as far as Israel knows, Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman told Meshaal that Egypt would not agree to Hamas’ ongoing hard-line stand in talks over Shalit’s release.

The official said Suleiman also said talks between Israel and Hamas, mediated by Egypt, should move ahead again intensively in Cairo, as was agreed more than a month ago.