JORDAN TIGHTENS BORDER BUT PROMISES SOME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003936

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2012
TAGS: PGOV PREL KPAL CASC KWBG ISRAEL'>IS JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN TIGHTENS BORDER BUT PROMISES SOME
LOOSENING...AFTER MESSAGE TO ISRAEL IS MADE

REF: A. 01 AMMAN 3763 B. JERUSALEM 2027

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

--------------
SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Despite public reassurances that travel restrictions
on Palestinians entering Jordan have been eased, tacit
acknowledgments made privately by Jordanian officials
buttressed by anecdotal evidence indicate that a quota system
is in place to restrict the number of Palestinians who can
cross into Jordan. This has affected Palestinian Americans
in many cases (Ref B),though senior Jordanian officials have
undertaken to ease the restrictions on transiting Palestinian
Americans. In the end, however, Jordanian officials are
unlikely to allow Palestinians--even those with valid
Jordanian travel documents--unrestricted travel to Jordan
until the humanitarian situation eases across the river and
fears of a mass refugee flow diminishes.

-------------- --------------
GOJ BORDER RESTRICTIONS EASED...BUT THERE ARE STILL
RESTRICTIONS
-------------- --------------


2. (C) When the ISRAELis began "Operation Defensive Shield"
in March, the GOJ virtually shut down the border as a
precaution against any mass movements. Until recently, the
GOJ allowed Palestinians entry to Jordan only in three
categories: for medical emergencies, for study, and for
transit to a third country. Jordanian officials eased those
restrictions at the end of June in coordination with the
Palestinian Interior Ministry. On July 16, the Palestinian
Authority published in the Jordanian daily newspaper
al-Dustor a list of categories of Palestinians who can cross
into Jordan, reportedly based on agreements worked out
between the PA and the GOJ. According to the article,
Palestinians who are yellow card holders--thus having
Jordanian citizenship and usually traveling on a Jordanian
passport--are allowed to cross at any time. However, green
card holders--who have usually either forfeited Jordanian
citizenship when they returned to the West Bank or are West
Bank residents with East Bank jobs--are allowed entry only if
they have Jordanian relatives who can request prior approval
for their travel from GOJ officials (or, based on our
experience, can prove they have jobs to return to in Jordan).
For a more detailed description of yellow card holders vs.
green card holders, please see Ref A. The article also
details the exceptions who are given permission to cross:
students registered or intending to register at Jordanian
Universities, medical and humanitarian cases, PA staff,
businessmen, Palestinians who have proof of travel to a third
country, and those who can prove passage to weddings or
funerals. PA officials also urged West Bank residents not to
travel to the border unless they fall into one of these
categories.

--------------
PALESTINIANS WELCOME, IN CONTROLLED NUMBERS
--------------


3. (C) From the official Jordanian optic, the increased
number of Palestinians at the border reflects a normal
seasonal spike. Foreign Minister Muasher recently explained
to the Ambassador that the numbers at the border have
increased in the recent weeks, but they are in line with
previous summers as West Bank Palestinians seek entry to
visit relatives in Jordan, attend weddings, etc. While
Minister of the Interior Qaftan Majali has said publicly that
"movement across the bridge is normal" and GOJ officials have
publicly said roughly 1,000 Palestinians are crossing a day,
Palestinian Jordanian contacts and press reports claim that
the GOJ is only allowing 350 Palestinian I.D. holders to
cross a day. We understand that there is daily communication
between the ISRAELi and Jordanian sides before the border
opens to assure no Palestinians clear the ISRAELi side
without permission to enter the Jordanian side.


4. (C) GID Director Said Kheir confirmed to the Ambassador
that the number of Palestinians crossing into Jordan is in
fact being "controlled" because of "security-driven
concerns". The foremost of these concerns is that declining
humanitarian conditions in the West Bank will trigger another
Palestinian exodus. In restricting the number of
Palestinians allowed to cross, the GOJ is reinforcing the
message to the ISRAELis that Jordan will not be used as a
safety valve. This policy is a direct consequence of the
divide separating Palestinian Jordanians and East Bankers.
Already a minority, East Bankers fear that a new influx of
Palestinian refugees would fundamentally change the nature of
the state.


5. (C) We defer to Congen Jerusalem as to conditions in the
West Bank, but we hear anecdotes from travelers which paint a
fairly grim picture. Due to curfews and decreased mobility,
Palestinians in the West Bank are reportedly having
difficulties procuring airline tickets to prove that they are
entering Jordan to transit. Palestinians unable to cross at
Allenby are trapped in Jericho because road blocks and
closures inhibit their ability to return home, according to
Embassy contacts. Compounding the misery of being trapped in
Jericho, Palestinian Jordanian contacts have complained that
corruption has proliferated as the back-up across the river
has increased. Companies that facilitate the bridge crossing
have reportedly doubled their fees.

-------------- --------------
THE PALESTINIAN AMERICAN DILEMMA...RELIEF IN SIGHT?
-------------- --------------


6. (C) Per Ref B, the situation has affected many Palestinian
Americans who have been unable to transit through Jordan to
return to the U.S. While third country nationals are able to
travel easily into Jordan as "tourists", Palestinian American
dual citizens who have Palestinian I.D. cards are being
treated as Palestinians, and as such come under the quota
system. The Ambassador has pressed GOJ officials, most
recently GID director Said Kheir, to allow Palestinian
Americans to be processed as third country nationals instead
of as Palestinians. Kheir agreed to liberalize the process
to facilitate the movement of Palestinian Americans into
Jordan and we understand that the situation has eased in some
individual cases. We are working on a more systematic
solution. Conoff visited the Jordanian side of the Allenby
bridge on July 16 to view the situation (see septel).

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


7. (C) Ultimately, this problem will recur as long as
Jordanian officials worry about the political consequences of
unrestricted access to Jordan for Palestinians. An
improvement in the humanitarian situation in the West Bank
would do something to ease Jordanian concerns, though only
genuine progress in the MEPP is likely to make a decisive
difference for Jordanian policy. In the meantime, we will
continue to work to mitigate the effects of long-established
policy.
Gnehm