JORDAN WORRIED MUGHRABI GATE ISSUE WILL HARM TIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 001483 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA AND NEA/IPA PARIS ALSO FOR USMISSION UNESCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2018 TAGS: PREL KWBG JO IS SUBJECT: JORDAN WORRIED MUGHRABI GATE ISSUE WILL HARM TIES WITH ISRAEL REF: A. JERUSALEM 792 ¶B. AMMAN 536 Classified By: Ambassador David Hale for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Director of Policy Planning and Research at the Foreign Ministry Omar Nahar - supported by representatives from the Ministry of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites as well as the Department of Antiquities - briefed PolOffs May 14 on the latest developments surrounding different Israeli and Jordanian plans for a new access ramp to the Mughrabi Gate approaching the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City. Nahar informed us that Jordan will be appealing directly to UNESCO in Paris to act more proactively to arbitrate between the competing plans. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The meeting followed on the heels of what Nahar termed the "rejection of the rejections" to the Israeli design (mostly Arab testimonies) at the recent meeting of the Jerusalem Local Planning Committee (reported Ref A and in the Israeli press). Nahar noted that the Jerusalem committee appeared to have rejected concerns that the Israeli ramp plan would expand the construction of prayer areas for Jews and would damage Muslim archeological structures uncovered by the excavation of the original ramp. Awqaf representative Abdallah al-Abbadi expressed dismay that the Israeli plan would damage the area, arguing that "it's a world heritage site, not a local site." Jordan would strongly prefer to take control of planning and implementing the project on its own, in accordance with its historical role and responsibility for the holy sites which Nahar made a point of noting is mentioned in the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty of ¶1994. Appealing to UNESCO -------------- ¶3. (C) Nahar noted that Jordan's Ambassador to France, who is also its Permanent Representative to UNESCO, has invited concerned parties (including Israel) to Paris for a May 22 presentation to UNESCO on Jordan's proposed design for a ramp leading up to the Mughrabi Gate. This plan, displayed on powerpoint slides by Abbadi, was initially aired during the February 24 technical meeting of Israelis, Jordanians, representatives from the World Heritage Committee and UNESCO. This was the second of two Jordanian proposals, the first of which - like the Israeli proposal, per Nahar - was rejected early on in the February 24 meeting because they were not true to the aesthetics of the site and would have damaged the archeology. Jordan's second concept is to construct a ramp made of indigenous stone that would circumvent the Muslim archeological area uncovered in the rubble of the original ramp. The plan also proposes a series of roofs next to the ramp to shield the uncovered site from the elements. ¶4. (C) In Jordan's view, the second plan received a more positive reception from the two UNESCO consulting bodies on world heritage issues - ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites; and ICCROM, the International Center for the Study of the Preservation of Cultural Property. However, Jordan was disappointed that the 3rd Monitoring Committee report submitted to the Director-General of UNESCO did not adequately represent Jordan's plan, referring to it only in the appendix. Nahar said Jordan was not provided with a draft of the report in advance, where they might have raised their objections. "We have a feeling that the second concept was not given enough attention, and we are going to Paris to lobby," Nahar explained. "A Face-saving Measure" -------------- ¶5. (C) Nahar informed us he had met on May 13 with Israel's Ambassador to Jordan to explain why the GOJ was inviting Israel and others to Paris. He stressed that the GOJ was not seeking a confrontation or a "media war," but rather sought to refocus Mughrabi Gate decisionmaking on UNESCO to provide a face-saving way to deflect public blame for whatever decision was taken on ramp design. "We are both stuck with this, and we both have to deal with this," he explained. "If UNESCO calls the shots, it will limit the damage." Nahar said he told the Israeli Ambassador that Jordan wants to limit any damage from Israeli unilateral action on the bilateral relationship. "We also have a public to worry about," he told us, referring to anticipated Jordanian, Arab, and Muslim anger if Israel implemented its plan. With this in mind, Nahar said he also urged that the Israeli Foreign Ministry work to preserve what he called a "tacit agreement" AMMAN 00001483 002 OF 002 that UNESCO would act as the arbiter on the ramp planning. Per Nahar, the Israeli Ambassador promised to deliver the message to Jerusalem. ¶6. (C) Nahar held out some hope that Israel's Regional Planning Committee would on May 20 reexamine the local committee's "rejection of the rejections," adding that "we believe the Regional Committee is not politically driven, so they might be 'on our side,' if that's the right way to put it." However, he appeared concerned that the train was leaving the station. At a minimum Nahar hoped that as a result of the meetings in Paris on May 22, UNESCO would weigh in and the Israeli plans would be delayed, at least until the World Heritage Committee meets in Quebec in early July. Jordan would also be open to the idea of reassigning the design to an independent figure, such as UNESCO consultant Giorgio Croci, said Antiquities representative Abd al-Sami Abu Dayyeh. Concern About Impact on GOJ-Israeli Relations Ranks High -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) After the Awqaf and Antiquities officials left, PolOff asked Nahar directly whether, all things considered, Jordan is most concerned with the principle of preserving Jordanian prerogatives regarding the holy sites or about the strain it would put on relations with Israel. Nahar - who previously served in Jordan's Embassy in Tel Aviv - intimated that the latter factor weighed most heavily at this juncture. Especially, he said, without visible progress in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "We want to preserve the relationship," he concluded. HALE