LEBANON: STOCKHOLM DONORS, CONFERENCE

S E C R E T AMMAN 006542 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2016 TAGS: PREL EAID EAIR MOPS LE JO IS SUBJECT: LEBANON: STOCKHOLM DONORS, CONFERENCE REF: A. STATE 139903 ¶B. AMMAN 6335 Classified By: Charge d'affaires Daniel Rubinstein for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S) Summary: Jordan's Foreign Minister will probably attend the August 31 donors' conference in Stockholm. Jordan is providing important support and facilitation for Lebanon's recovery. Some of the GOJ's most useful help stems from its good relations with Israeli security and military services; the GOJ appears to prefer to keep the spotlight off those relations in the current domestic climate. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) Polcouns delivered reftel demarche to Foreign Ministry chief of staff Dimai Haddad August 27. Haddad said Foreign Minister Abdelillah Al-Khatib would probably represent Jordan at the conference. ¶3. (U) Jordan continues to provide considerable support for stabilization in Lebanon. Highlights of Jordanian aid are summarized below: -- (SBU) Field hospital: The GOJ dispatched a military field hospital to Lebanon, and it began operating while the conflict was still underway. -- (SBU) Jordanian military engineers: Shortly after hostilities ended, the Jordanian military's Royal Engineer Corps helped clear unexploded ordinance from Beirut's airport, and is now providing similar help in other parts of the country. We understand Royal Engineers are discussing with Lebanese authorities the possibility of aiding in the reconstruction of bridges and other damaged infrastructure. -- (C) Jordanian military flights: Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) planes carrying humanitarian aid were the first to land in Beirut after the cease fire, and have continued on a daily basis. The GOJ placed a high priority on being first, in part in order to counter unhappiness on the Jordanian "street" with King Abdullah's public criticism of Hizballah early in the conflict. -- (S) Other military flights: Some other Arab countries seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Beirut in military aircraft arranged for RJAF pilots and crews to fly them, thus facilitating air clearance from Israeli authorities. These flights continue. -- (C) Amman air gateway: The only commercial flights into and out of Beirut are currently passing through Amman's Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA). Post understands Israel agreed to this arrangement with the understanding that Jordanian authorities would ensure that no problematic passengers or cargo passed through QAIA. -- (C) Amman air gateway (continued): The GOJ appears sensitive to misperceptions that it is acting as Israel's agent in the Amman gateway arrangement. On August 26, GOJ spokesman Nasser Judeh denounced unnamed critics of the arrangement, an apparent reply to recent statements on Al-Jazeera by "Al-Quds Al-Arabi" editor Taher al-Atwan who claimed "Mossad agents" were at QAIA inspecting travelers to and from Lebanon. Some more general statements about the existence of the Amman air gateway allegedly made by Israeli government officials may have also fed this perception. -- (U) Charities: The Hashemite Charitable Organization (HCO) is coordinating relief donations for Lebanon from NGOs and wealthy individuals. HCO has sent supplies both by Jordanian milair and with commercial truckers through Syria. -- (S) Security assistance to GOL: Post understands that senior GoJ officials are working with Gulf Arab governments to provide small arms and/or training to GOL security forces. ¶4. (S) Comment: The GOJ places a premium on stabilizing Lebanon, partly to address popular emotions in Jordan over the conflict (ref B),but also likely as a way to help engineer an environment more favorable to the efforts of moderate states such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to encourage renewed peacemaking in the region. We can count on the GOJ to continue its key facilitating role for assistance to Lebanon. End comment. Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ Rubinstein