JORDAN FEELS STYMIED ON MUGHRABI GATE ISSUE, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002147 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR I/O, NEA/ELA AND NEA/IPA PARIS ALSO FOR USMISSION TO UNESCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/15/2018 TAGS: PREL SCUL UNESCO JO IS KWBG SUBJECT: JORDAN FEELS STYMIED ON MUGHRABI GATE ISSUE, BUT HAPPY CAN KICKED DOWN THE ROAD REF: A. AMMAN 1998 ¶B. AMMAN 1483 ¶C. AMMAN 536 Classified By: Charge D'Affaires Daniel Rubinstein for reasons 1.4 (b,d ). ¶1. (C) Jordan, though it took a relatively conciliatory approach to the Mughrabi Gate Ascent issue at the recent meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Quebec, remains concerned that its equities are being ignored and that Israeli unilateralism will lead to a negative backlash. Note: Per ref A, as the Quebec meeting was taking place, Post weighed in with the Foreign Ministry to urge its delegation to withdraw a harshly worded condemnation of Israeli unilateralism. End Note. In the short term, however, Jordan takes some solace in the fact that Israel appears unlikely to start building a new structure in the immediate future. ¶2. (C) In the wake of the early July UNESCO and World Heritage Committee meetings in Paris and Quebec, respectively, PolOff engaged again with MFA Policy Planning Director Omar Nahar about the issue. According to Nahar, Jordan is "not pleased" with the result of the WHC meeting, believing that Jordanian concerns continue to be dismissed (see refs B and C). From Nahar's perspective, the one positive result of Quebec was an agreement that Jordan will be granted access to the site of the proposed new ascent. This would allow Jordanian experts to take proper measurements which will allow Jordan to transform its notional proposed alternative to the Israeli plan into a full-fledged design. Whether or not that happens, Nahar speculated that at least it will delay the implementation of Israel's plans to construct a new ascent of its own design - though he said the Israelis are "hinting" that they must build in advance of the rainy winter season to avoid further damage to the current site. ¶3. (C) Nahar reiterated that one of Jordan's main concerns is that if the construction of the new Mughrabi Gate Ascent goes forward by Israel and according to its own designs, it could foment a strong negative reaction by the Palestinian and other Arab publics. Beyond the political, cultural and religious sensitivities involved, Nahar noted that Jerusalem Palestinians fear - fueled in part by reports in the Israeli press - that Israel's design is meant to accommodate military vehicles for an ultimate takeover of the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount area and the al-Aqsa Mosque in particular. PolOff asked Nahar whether he himself thought there was any truth to those claims, and if not - given Jordan's desire to keep the pot from boiling over - was he pushing back on that point with his Palestinian interlocutors. Nahar said he does push back, adding that Jordan does not see Israel having designs on exerting physical control over Al-Aqsa. However, the fact that these stories appeared in the Israeli press has made it difficult to disabuse people of such theories. Rubinstein