Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
02AMMAN3408
2002-06-24 13:17:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

JORDANIAN PALESTINIANS NOTCH UP CRITICISM OF ARAFAT

Tags:  PREL PGOV KPAL IS JO 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003408 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL IS JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PALESTINIANS NOTCH UP CRITICISM OF ARAFAT

Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003408

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2012
TAGS: PREL PGOV KPAL IS JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PALESTINIANS NOTCH UP CRITICISM OF ARAFAT

Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) While Jordanian Palestinians have long grumbled about
Arafat, two prominent Jordanian Palestinian leaders recently
expressed to us a new level of criticism of the PA President.
Some Palestinian Jordanians are even calling into question
Arafat's true nationality in another round of anti-Arafat
conspiracy theories. Despite the intensified criticism from
the more critical thinkers here, Arafat remains the
emotion-evoking symbol of the Palestinian people for the
majority of Palestinian Jordanians. End Summary.

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WHO IS ARAFAT?
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2. (C) Poloff met separately with former Prime Minister Taher
al-Masri and former Royal Court Advisor Adnan Abu Odeh on
June 19, prominent Jordanians of Palestinian origin. Both
offered harsh criticism of Arafat. Taher al-Masri, whose
brother Maher is a member of Arafat's cabinet, complained
that Arafat is a major obstacle to reform, which the PA
desperately needs. At a World Affairs Council the same
night, he told the elite audience that Palestinians should
not reject out of hand U.S. pressure to reform the PA and
reminded the audience that it was Arafat who refused to sign
the Judiciary and Basic Law. Note: Jordanian press
editorials have also been calling for PA reform, "even though
it is being directed by the U.S." Al-Masri also confided to
Poloff that "if something happens to Arafat, it would not be
a bad thing" and prefaced his comments by saying he would not
have said that a few months back.


3. (C) Al-Masri commented on the new PNA cabinet by saying it
was "an okay first step, as long as it isn't isolated." He
also reported that at least 5-6 of those around
Arafat--including Abu Mazen, Hikmat Zeid, and Nabil Amr--were
really tough on him in a recent meeting on reform, and Hikmat
Zeid--who is not part of Arafat's new Cabinet--walked out of
the room after calling Arafat an "S.O.B.". According to
al-Masri, the new PA Minister of Interior and former Special
Representative of the PLO Commission in Jordan, Abdel Razzak
al-Yahya, was a moderate who had built a million dollar
mansion in Amman's ritzy Abdoun area while working for
Arafat.


4. (C) Abu Odeh, while never fond of Arafat, bitterly
complained to Poloff about continued corruption among Arafat
and his cronies and derided Arafat for his limited vocabulary
and his inability to think conceptually. Abu Odeh cited
several examples of the continued corruption and also
criticized Arafat's campaign to damage the reputation of
Mustapha Bourgouti, who was being targeted because of his
increased popularity and his clean reputation. In response
to a question about what the U.S. could do to push PA reform,
Abu Odeh said the U.S. should open an investigation into PA
corruption and cite several specific examples. By doing so,
the U.S. could improve its own reputation at the grass roots
level, but could avoid blaming Arafat directly. While Abu
Odeh applauded some of the new PA Cabinet members, he derided
the choice of Yahya as Interior Minister. Like al-Masri, he
pointed to the million dollar villa in Abdoun that he said
Arafat built for Yahya and said that Arafat was calling on
Yahya to return the favor.


5. (C) Interestingly, both Al-Masri and Abu Odeh told Poloff
that conspiracies about Arafat are on the rise since Arafat's
negotiations with Israel to lift the sieges on the Muqatta
and the Church of Nativity. Al-Masri told Poloff that at a
recent social gathering, an elderly Palestinian refugee
alleged that Arafat was originally a Jew. Al-Masri said many
were now questioning Arafat's Palestinian bonafides and even
al-Masri asked why there were few, if any, records of
Arafat's childhood days in Egypt. "You can't find one
neighbor or one childhood friend of Arafat!" Abu Odeh
reported similar statements and said people here were
questioning whether Arafat was Palestinian or Egyptian.

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COMMENT
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6. (C) While criticism of Arafat and PA corruption are not
new, we are seeing a resurgence of criticism of Arafat
similar to what we were hearing prior to Israeli actions that
isolated Arafat in the Muqatta. Still, these recent comments
suggest that at least two of the more critically thinking
Palestinian Jordanians are beginning to recognize Arafat's
liabilities. This does not hold true for the vast majority
of Palestinian Jordanians who continue to see Arafat not only
as the President of the PNA, but the symbol of the
Palestinian struggle as well. Israeli actions that isolate
Arafat--such as the re-occupation of Ramallah--only
strengthen Arafat's emotional appeal here, and make it more
difficult for voices like al-Masri and Abu Odeh to be heard.
Gnehm