JORDANIAN-PALESTINIANS ON EDGE AS CONFLICT ROILS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 AMMAN 005109

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2014
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL KPAL IS JO
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN-PALESTINIANS ON EDGE AS CONFLICT ROILS
ACROSS THE RIVER

Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b)(d)

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) The festering Palestinian-Israeli conflict has
rekindled sensitivity among some Jordanians of Palestinian
origin about their position in Jordanian society,
highlighting their strained relationship with the dominant
(but minority) East Bank Jordanian community. It also has
given rise recently to public discourse over loyalty and
Jordanian national identity. Contacts say that
discrimination is epitomized by the current iteration of the
election law which favors heavily tribal areas, but they also
point to the inability of Palestinians to serve in certain
high-level government jobs, the military, and intelligence
apparatus as proof of institutionalized discrimination.
Partly in response, the Prime Minister has initiated
unprecedented dialogue with the Palestinian community to
address their concerns, but many interlocutors believe that
his hands are tied by entrenched East Bank interests
(particularly in the security apparatus),making real change
impossible without royal intervention. Palestinians' fear of
retribution will continue to restrain Palestinian activism,
leaving an opening for Islamists to assume the Palestinian
mantle in Jordan. Activists worry that the GOJ's inaction on
this issue also stymies reform efforts in Jordan. End
Summary.

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EAST-WEST BANK DIVIDE BUBBLES TO THE SURFACE
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2. (C) The stalled peace process and poor humanitarian
situation in the West Bank and Gaza have pushed to the
surface long-standing but latent sensitivity among many
Jordanians of Palestinian origin about their position in
society vis-a-vis Jordan's minority but dominant,
tribal-based East Bank community. It also has recently
generated a top-down debate about "loyalty" and "national
identity." At the core is Jordanians' fear that the Israeli
security barrier and harsh measures against Palestinians will
encourage yet another mass migration (or "transfer") of
Palestinians to Jordan, further stressing the country's
meager resources and creating instability (by tilting the
population balance further toward Palestinians). Many East
Bankers openly acknowledge that discrimination against
Palestinians exists, but justify it as a necessary evil given
the political situation and related security concerns.
Prominent East Banker Suleiman Arabiyat asserted recently to
PolOffs that the "time is not right" for
Jordanian-Palestinians to serve in sensitive government
posts, saying that their loyalty will always be in question
until a Palestinian state is created and they can decide
whether to stay in Jordan or return to Palestine. Many
Jordanian-Palestinians, most of whom have always lived under
Jordanian rule and enjoy complete Jordanian citizenship, say
this attitude is just an excuse for East Bankers intent on
preserving their privileged status.


3. (C) Anecdotes highlight the charged nature of the issue.
In April, the Interior Minister publicly charged that
rioters in Wihdat refugee camp burned a Jordanian flag while
protesting Israel's assassination of Sheikh Yassin, a charge
many dispute. Contacts confided to PolOff their belief that
"entrenched" interests circulated the story to show the
"disloyalty" and "ingratitude" of Palestinian refugees,
highlighting that no one seems able to prove a flag was
actually burned. Separately, Oreib al-Rintawi, a well-known
Jordanian-Palestinian journalist and director of al-Quds
Center for Political Research, says he was verbally attacked
during a lecture in Irbid when he commented that Jordanian
civil society would benefit from acknowledging the diversity
found in its "collective identity." He told PolOff that the
term prompted an East Banker in the audience to accuse him of
perpetuating "subversive" and "dangerous" ideas. Since that
time he has been dealing with the fallout of the incident,
and fears now that he has been "labeled" a troublemaker, even
though his only intention to was start much-needed dialogue
about issues that are often swept under the rug.


4. (C) The strain has even filtered into seemingly
unrelated matters. During a meeting between the Prime
Minister and women activists at odds over their perception
that GOJ spokesperson (and womens' activist) Asma Khader was
using her government position to their disadvantage, Khader
accused the women -- all East Bankers -- of "ganging up" on
her because she is Palestinian. The PM dismissed the charge
in front of the group and insisted the women work harder to
resolve their differences, according to one of the attendees.

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ELECTION LAW CENTRAL TO DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINTS
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5. (C) Prominent Jordanian-Palestinians say that the GOJ's
discrimination against the Palestinian majority manifests in
many ways, but most point to the current election law as
central. Former royal court adviser Adnan Abu Odeh says the
law gives disproportionate representation to the heavily East
Bank tribal areas of southern Jordan at the expense of urban
areas with heavy Palestinian populations, and says it is the
main reason that East Bankers won overwhelmingly in the June
2003 Lower House elections. (Note: Seventeen out of 110
members of parliament elected are of Palestinian origin.)
Many contacts of Palestinian descent doubt that the GOJ will
give Palestinians representation in Parliament proportional
to their percentage of the population, even if it makes good
on its promise to revise the law in time for the next
parliamentary election in 2007.


6. (C) The dearth of Jordanian-Palestinians in appointed
positions also reinforces their sense of exclusion in GOJ
decisionmaking. For example, King Abdullah appointed seven
Jordanian-Palestinians to his 21-member cabinet. Just seven
West Bankers of 55 members sit in the upper house of
Parliament, and only a handful of judges and no governors
claim Palestinian roots. During a recent meeting with
Minister of Information and Communications Technology and
Minister of Administrative Development Fawwaz Zu'bi (East
Banker),the Ambassador complimented his choice of Hala
Lattouf as Secretary General of the Ministry of
Administrative Development. Zu'bi replied: "Yes, she's a
great choice, but I have be careful now. She is the third
person of Palestinian background that I have appointed!
People notice such things."


7. (C) Some interlocutors say the security apparatus is the
main enforcer of this discrimination policy, particularly
when it comes to excluding Palestinians from key government
posts. Many believe that GID chief Sa'ad Khair heavily
influences the King's cabinet and upper house appointments.
They acknowledge that history contributes to the heavy GID
hand (dating back to Black September in 1970 when Palestinian
fighters openly battled the GOJ for control of Amman),but
add that in some cases, it goes too far. For example, former
Sen. Marwan Dudin (Palestinian) alleges that the GID
intervenes in the appointment of university officials and
even hospital administrators. He said that only orders from
the King -- and patience so that changes can take root
gradually -- will adequately challenge the status quo.

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UNPRECEDENTED GOJ OUTREACH TO PALESTINIANS
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8. (C) The friction has not been lost on Prime Minister
Faisal al-Fayez, who in recent months has initiated
unprecedented dialogue with the Palestinian community about
their grievances. While his focus during recent refugee camp
visits has affirmed Jordan's commitment to Palestinians'
"right to return," a three-hour meeting with
Palestinian-affiliated societies in Jordan on May 3 centered
on their complaints about discrimination. Director General
of the Department of Palestinian Affairs Abdulkarim
Abulhaijja, the organizer of the gathering, said he went to
great lengths before the meeting to convince people they
would not face repercussions for speaking their mind. While
Abulhaijja termed the frank discussion "very successful," he
added that the Prime Minister's follow-up is key. He told
PolOffs that he will "wait and see" whether the PM actually
makes good on his promise for further meetings as promised,
confiding that he is not confident that al-Fayez, despite his
good intentions, is empowered to implement real changes.
While he appears receptive to the Palestinians' complaints of
discrimination, entrenched interests are "whispering in his
other ear" about the dangers of allowing Palestinians greater
participation in Jordanian political life, according to
Abulhaijja.


9. (C) Palestinians themselves, however, are divided about
the issue. Former PM Taher al-Masri (Palestinian) told
PolOff he refused to attend the PM's meeting because as a
"Jordanian" he resented being singled out for his Palestinian
identity (Note: PolOff gathered from his tone that more
importantly, he resented being included with a group of
society heads, which he deemed "beneath" his stature as a
former Prime Minister.) He said such gatherings served to
divide, not unite the country, and he said he intended to
convey the message to the Prime Minister. Dudin expressed a
similar view, adding his criticism of Abu Odeh for attending
the meeting. (Note: Al-Masri is only one of four
Jordanian-Palestinians who served as PM in Jordan since 1970.
His tenure in 1991 lasted the longest (152 days);
Palestinian-origin PMs have served a total of just 251 days
in the last 34 years.)

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FEAR OF RETRIBUTION LEAVES OPENING TO IAF, STYMIES REFORM
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10. (C) Our contacts say that fear of retribution continues
to limit dialogue on such sensitive issues and political
activism. Rintawi's says his face-off with the irate East
Banker is precisely the reason the Palestinian community
remains so fractured. Would-be Palestinian activists have
shunned the limelight, he says, fearing that raising such
sensitive issues in public will earn them the label
"disloyal." The fear of retribution hit home recently when a
group of Palestinian luminaries sought Embassy intervention
with the Jordanian government to pressure the GOJ to reverse
a travel policy that could have meant the inadvertent
revocation of Jordanian citizenship to thousands of
Jordanian-Palestinians. The issue ultimately resolved
itself, but at the time, the group pleaded for discretion
with PolOff, fearing "severe repercussions" if the GOJ
learned they had mentioned their concerns to an Embassy
officer. Separately, former MP Mohammad al-Kouz
(Palestinian) informed PolOff that shortly before her arrival
for a luncheon with Wihdat camp leaders in May, al-Kouz
received a call from the Mukhabarat inquiring about the
purpose of the gathering and asking for the names of the
participants.


11. (C) Rintawi says fear of being targeted has left
secular Palestinian activists rudderless, and has enabled the
Islamic Action Front to fill the void and emerge as the
primary advocate for the Palestinian cause. (Note: Of the 17
MPs of Palestinian origin, eight are IAF members. The one
female Palestinian MP is also an IAF member.) He suspects
that the GOJ's fear of increasing the Palestinian voice (and
by extension that of the IAF) is one reason the government is
dragging its feet on reforming the election law. He frets,
however, that marginalization of more than half of the
population will negatively impact political development and
the growth of civil society in Jordan. Former Senator Husni
Ayesh (Palestinian) agrees, and says the government risks
alienating a significant portion of the community, especially
youth, which could have negative security implications down
the road if young Palestinians grow up feeling as outcasts
with limited opportunities in Jordan. Adviser to the Prime
Minister on Human Rights Nancy Bakir (East Banker) notes that
the various segments of the Palestinian population have
different needs and concerns, but worries that the refugee
camps are "boiling." The longer the Palestinian-Israeli
crisis festers, the more pronounced the East-West Bank
tensions inside Jordan will become, she says.

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COMMENT
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12. (C) East Bankers tend to dismiss Palestinian complaints
about discrimination as "ingratitude" for years of Jordanian
support to Palestinian refugees. While Jordan has absorbed
more Palestinian refugees than any other Arab country and has
provided them the most extensive support (including full
citizenship to most) since 1948, their sense of inequity has
been magnified by the lack of movement towards a final
solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Updating the
election law and being included as full partners in the
political system are key concerns of Palestinians in Jordan
(and also a mantra for reform and civil society activists
here),but it will remain a political hot potato in the
absence of substantial movement on the peace process.

Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page.
GNEHM