KING PHONES SINIORA, BACKS GOL

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 006179 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2016 TAGS: PREL IS LE JO SUBJECT: KING PHONES SINIORA, BACKS GOL REF: AMMAN 6151 Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Jordan's official news agency reported that King Abdullah telephoned Lebanese PM Siniora August 13 to "reaffirm Jordan's support for Lebanon's position on UNSCR 1701." The King reportedly assured Siniora that Jordan would continue working with Arab and other governments to "ensure the full implementation of the resolution." He also committed Jordan to further humanitarian aid to Lebanon. ¶2. (SBU) The King's August 13 statement is more positive than some of Prime Minister Bakhit's recent comments. On August 12 Bakhit grudgingly acknowledged the resolution as a "first step." Several Jordanian dailies reported the same day that an unidentified senior GOJ official briefed reporters "off the record" that the GOJ should consider options for expressing its opposition to Israeli actions, up to and including the withdrawal of Jordan's Ambassador from Tel Aviv. He also said it was no longer desirable to the U.S. be "the sole mediator" (sic) in the Middle East. A columnist in the populist daily Al-Arab Al-Yowm claimed that Bakhit was the official. These statements reflect the widening gap between Palace and government, including on foreign policy issues. ¶3. (C) Comment: Bakhit and FM Khatib have advocated within the GOJ for a public posture closer to Jordanian public opinion, where calls to downgrade ties with Israel were growing louder with each day of conflict between Israel and Lebanon. King Abdullah had pulled the GOJ position away from the street's, leading some in the establishment to worry that the King's own popularity was in free fall as a result. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Hale