JORDANIAN GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE TO THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006445 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/11/2015 TAGS: EAID EFIN PREF PREL KPAL JO SUBJECT: JORDANIAN GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE TO THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY REF: A. STATE 146261 ¶B. AMMAN 06238 Classified By: CDA David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d) ¶1. (C) Jordan (which formerly administered the West Bank) offers significant support to Palestinian society in keeping with its extensive economic and social ties to the Palestinian territories. King Abdullah, who most recently met with Abu Mazen in Amman on August 2 (ref B),and other senior GOJ officials are steadfast in their political support for the Palestinian Authority (PA) under Abu Mazen and a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There is extensive cooperation between Jordanian and PA security services, and the GOJ recently reiterated its public offer to provide training in Jordan for Palestinian security officers. Through the provisions of the Jordan-Israel peace treaty of 1994, Jordan retains a vestigial link to the administration of Muslim and Christian holy sites in the West Bank and works closely with Palestinian religious authorities on the upkeep and refurbishment of these places. The Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs also continues to pay the salaries of Awqaf employees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Of particular note, the GOJ expends extensive resources for the large Palestinian refugee population in Jordan, both those in official UNRWA camps and those outside them. ¶2. (C) Trade accords signed between the PA and its neighbors, including Jordan, in the 1990s have been a vehicle for technical cooperation to promote the PA's trade potential. The GOJ has revised trade policies to facilitate the flow of trade with the West Bank in support of the PA. In a meeting with Charge August 11, Foreign Minister Faruok Kasrawi said that the Jordanian Ministry of Trade and Industry continues to work with the PA to aid the movement of Palestinian goods into Jordan, and is attempting to help the PA export products to Europe and elsewhere outside the region. ¶3. (U) Per ref A request, poloff consulted on August 10 with officials from the Foreign Ministry and the Amman office of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on Jordanian assistance to the PA. Based on their responses and other available information, post has confirmed that as a recipient of extensive foreign assistance itself, the GOJ does not provide any budgetary support for the PA. Jordan also does not, to our knowledge, help fund any development projects in the West Bank or Gaza, either directly or through a multilateral institution such as UNRWA. HALE