RETURN OF PRISONERS FROM ISRAEL WELCOMED; TERMS OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002955 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KISL IS JO SUBJECT: RETURN OF PRISONERS FROM ISRAEL WELCOMED; TERMS OF DEAL USED AS POLITICAL FOOTBALL REF: A. AMMAN 2668 ¶B. AMMAN 2613 ¶C. 05 AMMAN 3126 ¶1. (SBU) Summary and comment: Jordanians broadly welcomed the transfer from Israel of four Jordanian prisoners who had been serving life sentences there. Nonetheless, the GOJ faces some criticism for agreeing to their continued confinement, and for a lack of progress on the cases of some thirty other Jordanians held in Israeli prisons and twenty-five more Jordanian citizens considered "missing" in Israel. With municipal elections imminent, both the government and opposition are trying to make the most out of the issue. End Summary and comment. ¶2. (U) On July 5, Israel transferred to Jordan four prisoners - Sultan Ajlouni, Khaled Abu Ghalioun, Salem Abu Ghalioun, and Ameen Sanea - who received life sentences in 1990 for killing two Israeli soldiers after infiltrating into the West Bank and ambushing an Israeli patrol. Prime Minister Bakhit said to reporters at a press conference following the arrival of the prisoners that the transfer was achieved after extensive diplomatic efforts, and that "there were two options, either accept the transfer of the prisoners and detain them...or to leave them in Israeli jails for life." Foreign Minister Khatib told reporters that the deal "was the best that could be achieved given legal complications." EDITORIAL SNIPING -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The GOJ's somewhat defensive tone is the result of critics arguing that the government failed in its negotiations, as the prisoners will have to serve time (reportedly for "at least" 18 months, but described by PM Bakhit as "no more than" 18 months) in Jordanian prisons. Nabil Ghishan, columnist for the independent opposition Arabic daily Al Arab al-Yawm questioned the motives of the GOJ in accepting the transfer, observing that the four will remain imprisoned despite the "heroic" acts they undertook against Israeli forces. Columnist Samih Maaitah of the independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad argued that the deal is "booby-trapped" and does not benefit the prisoners. ¶4. (U) Countering the critical commentary, Al-Ghad's Editor-in-Chief Ayman Safadi argued that despite the confinement in Jordan, the transfer is an "achievement," and "no sane and reasonable person can argue that imprisonment in Jordan is a thousand times better than a life sentence in an Israeli prison." Safadi added that the "GOJ has done its utmost and the result is the best that could be achieved in light of Israeli rigidness." Columnist Nusuh al Majali of Al-Rai, an independent Arabic daily considered close to the government, warned against insinuations about the GOJ, and added that skeptics "hold on to unrealizable demands because they are not in positions of authority where they would have to translate their slogans into action...(P)eople are smart and can differentiate between justified logical criticism and political stances that aim to score points and play on emotions." IAF, TRADE UNIONS CONDEMN PRISONER DEAL -------------- ¶5. (U) In this election year (municipal polling takes place on July 31, with parliamentary elections later in the fall), Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front (IAF),quickly staked out a critical position, strongly condemning the GOJ for approving the deal. IAF Deputy Secretary General Rahil Gharaibeh said "it is illogical for SIPDIS the GOJ to be involved in the implementation of a verdict issued by Zionist courts," and that "the imprisonment of the four men in Jordan contradicts logic as they did not commit any crime under Jordanian law." Jordan's Islamist-dominated trade unions called the four prisoners "heroes who fought the Zionist entity" and urged the GOJ to release them. The IAF also urged the GOJ to step up efforts to ensure the release of approximately 30 Jordanians held in Israeli prisons and to obtain information on 25 Jordanians missing in Israel. NOTE: The GOJ periodically raises with the GOI the matter of its prisoners in Israeli jails. According to press reports, approximate ly 30 Jordanians are imprisoned in Israel on charges ranging from security and political offenses to criminal transgressions or expired visas. END NOTE. COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The GOJ and Islamist oppositionists are both using the prisoner transfer as they seek to bolster their public AMMAN 00002955 002 OF 002 opinion ratings. The GOJ claims a diplomatic victory in securing the release of four of its citizens, while the IAF - bent on discrediting the government - asserts that the deal harms Jordan's sovereignty and insults Jordanians because the prisoners are "heroes who defended the country." The IAF's campaign may also stem from recent public opinion hits it has taken as a result of its association by many Jordanians with Hamas. Pro-government editorials and other opposition parties have recently taken the IAF to task for failing to condemn the Hamas takeover in Gaza (reftels),and it appears the IAF is striking back. However, even limited progress on the issue of Jordanian prisoners in Israel -- a hardy perennial with which the IAF and the syndicates beat up on the GoJ - is a big step towards tamping down its propaganda value to the opposition. Rubinstein