On the morning of April 16th the BBC News website published a report by David Gritten which currently goes under the headline “Arrests in Jordan over rocket and drone plots” and relates to a story that broke the previous day.
The BBC’s report opens by telling readers that:
“Jordan’s security services say they have arrested 16 people suspected of plotting attacks inside the country involving rockets and drones.
The General Intelligence Department said the suspects had been under surveillance since 2021 and their plans were aimed at “targeting national security, sowing chaos and sabotage”.
They involved possession of explosives and automatic weapons, the manufacture of rockets, the concealment of one rocket ready to be launched, a project to manufacture drones, and the training of individuals both in Jordan and abroad, it alleged.
State media cited the government’s spokesman as saying the suspects were members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which denied any involvement.”
The topic of the Muslim Brotherhood’s denial of involvement comes up again later in the report:
“Later, state-run Jordan Television broadcast what it said were confessions of eight of the suspects, six of whom said they were members of the Muslim Brotherhood, according to Petra.
A statement from the Brotherhood rejected what it called the “unjust accusations” made by Momani and insisted it had no links to, or knowledge of, the plots.
The Islamist group – whose political arm, the Islamic Action Front, is the largest opposition group in parliament – also stressed that it “adhered to the national line” and “remained committed to its peaceful approach”.”
As reported by Ahmad Sharawi at The Long War Journal, several of those arrested did indeed state that they were members of the Muslim Brotherhood and the IAF’s claim to have “no links to, or knowledge of, the plots” is highly questionable.
“In the recruitment cell, an individual named Kheder Abdel Aziz stated he joined the Brotherhood after graduating high school in 1975. He currently serves as the administrative manager of both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic Action Front in Zarqa. Aziz admitted selecting two active Brotherhood members to join the terrorist cell. […]
The Islamic Action Front previously called for the release of some of the cell members, claiming that they were political prisoners, prior to the announcement by the GID that these were part of a terrorist plot. The demand included freeing Abdul Aziz Haroun and Ali Qasem from the drone manufacturing unit, Muath Ghanem and Abdullah Hisham from the rocket manufacturing unit, and Kheder Abdel Aziz and Ayman al Ajaoui from the recruitment cell. This shows a direct link between the Islamic Action Front and the cell.”
Gritten has nothing to tell his readers about the history of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and its involvement in prior security incidents. He does however inform BBC audiences that:
“Jordanian officials have previously accused the Brotherhood of instigating pro-Hamas protests following the start of the Gaza war with the aim of destabilising the kingdom, which borders Israel and several Arab states.”
As was reported by MEMRI and others over a year ago:
“The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Jordan, […] is one of the main elements behind the protests that take place every few days across Jordan, and also organizes events and conferences at which Jordanians are exhorted to wage jihad against Israel and smuggle arms to the Palestinians in the West Bank. Jordanian MB officials, especially Murad Al-Adaileh, chairman of the MB’s Islamic Action Front party, encourage Jordanians to take part in the “war of liberation” against Israel, and claim that Israel is a “temporary entity.” […]
The displays of support for Hamas have also led to protest against the Jordanian regime and its king, who is accused of treason and of “defending the infidels.” Much of the fury is focused on the fact that Jordan allows trucks carrying goods from the Gulf and from the kingdom itself to enter Israel through its border crossings, an arrangement known in Jordan as the “land bridge.” Dozens of hashtags have been launched by Jordanian social media users calling to block this trade route, calling it “the bridge of shame” or “the bridge of treason.”
This incitement against Israel and against the Jordanian regime is also evident on Jordanian social media, in videos and posts by clerics close to Qatar and in many designated hashtags that were recently launched.”
And:
“In addition to calls to revoke the peace agreement with Israel, the protesters also express support for Hamas, praise its military commanders Muhammad Deif, Yahya Sinwar and Abu Obeida, extol the October 7 attack and the armed struggle against Israel and call to expel the American ambassador from Jordan. Calls of rebellion against the king have been heard as well. At a demonstration in the city of Al-Zarqa, protesters sang a patriotic song in praise of the king while replacing his name with that of Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida. On March 30, there were violent protests in the vicinity of the Al-Baqa’a camp, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan. The protesters started fires and threw stones, causing several of them to be arrested.”
Notably, the BBC News website’s Jordan archive does not include any reporting on those protests.
Gritten closes his report by telling readers that:
“Several suspects were also cited as saying that they had travelled to Lebanon to meet and undergo training with the person overseeing the plots.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, told his Jordanian counterpart Jafar Hassan that it was ready to co-operate in tackling potential threats to their countries, Petra reported.”
However, Gritten has nothing to tell BBC audiences about the reports claiming that the training in Lebanon was in coordination with Hizballah backed Hamas operatives in that country.
As we see, while Gritten’s report uncritically amplifies the Muslim Brotherhood’s denials, BBC audiences are not provided with the full range of information necessary for them to make up their own minds about its involvement in the plot.
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