Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08TELAVIV1869
2008-08-22 08:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:
ISRAELI VIEWS ON JORDANIAN DEVELOPMENTS
how-toVZCZCXRO6302 OO RUEHROV DE RUEHTV #1869 2350809 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 220809Z AUG 08 FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8098 INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 001869
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV IS JO KPAL
SUBJECT: ISRAELI VIEWS ON JORDANIAN DEVELOPMENTS
REF: A. AMMAN 2424
B. AMMAN 2414
Classified By: DCM Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L TEL AVIV 001869
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV IS JO KPAL
SUBJECT: ISRAELI VIEWS ON JORDANIAN DEVELOPMENTS
REF: A. AMMAN 2424
B. AMMAN 2414
Classified By: DCM Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (d)
1. (C) Summary. Israel has not reacted publicly to Jordan's
decision to resume its official dialogue with Hamas. MFA DDG
for the Middle East Hadas played down the significance of the
Jordanian move in an August 20 conversation with Pol Couns.
Hadas said the GOI was much more upset by Jordan's decision
to release four prisoners convicted by Israel of killing two
IDF personnel in 1990. Israel returned them to Jordan in
July 2007 with the understanding that they would serve at
least 18 months in jail. Hadas said Jordan's move may have
been legal but it was damaging to Jordan's credibility.
Another Israeli contact with good connections to Jordan told
us recently that lack of progress on the ground in the West
Bank was feeding Jordanian fears about the future. End
Summary.
2. (C) Pol Couns discussed recent developments in Jordan
August 20 with MFA Deputy Director General (A/S equivalent)
for the Middle East Yacov Hadas. Hadas, a recent former
ambassador to Jordan, said the GOI had decided not to comment
publicly on Jordan's decision to resume its official dialogue
with Hamas. Hadas noted that Jordanian intelligence chief
Dahabi, who has been charged with conducting the dialogue, is
known for his hostility to Hamas. Hadas thought the dialogue
did not reflect any change in official Jordanian attitudes
and would likely be short-lived.
3. (C) Hadas saw two reasons behind the Jordanian decision.
First, the Palace wanted to placate pro-Hamas public opinion
and hoped to distract the Jordanian "street" from economic
difficulties, including a severe drought and wheat shortage.
Secondly, Hadas thought Jordan was sending a message to the
U.S. and Israel that Jordan feels isolated and ignored. The
Jordanians, in his view, see the Iranian-led radical bloc as
the ascendent force in the region and are alarmed. Hadas
summed up the Jordanian outlook by quoting one of the Hebrew
prophets: "The wicked prosper while the righteous suffer."
4. (C) Regarding the Jordanian decision to release four
prisoners who had been convicted in Israel of the 1990
killing of an IDF officer and a soldier and who were
repatriated to Jordan in July 2007, however, Hadas said the
Israelis were outraged. Hadas, who was personally involved
in the repatriation negotiations, said that while the
Jordanian decision may have been legal, Jordan had reneged on
its commitment during the negotiations that the prisoners
would serve at least 18 months in prison after their return
to Jordan. The prisoners' release was not critical in
itself, Hadas stressed, but it was damaging to Israel's image
of Jordan as a country that honors its commitments. Hadas
also complained that the Jordanians were again criticizing
Israel's plans to construct a new ramp to the Mughrabi Gate
on the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City.
Hadas said the construction plan had been vetted with the
Jordanians and a revised plan was developed that incorporated
a number of Jordanian requests.
5. (C) Separately, BG (reserve) Baruch Spiegel, an adviser
to President Peres, told Pol Couns that he was concerned
about the state of Israeli relations with Jordan. Spiegel
said that during a recent visit to Amman, he found the
Jordanians deeply alarmed by the lack of progress on the
ground in the West Bank, as well as by continued Israeli
announcements of plans to expand settlements. Spiegel stated
that the settlement activity in particular was reviving
Jordanian suspicions that Israel's real agenda is to solve
the Palestinian issue by turning Jordan into the Palestinian
state.
********************************************* ********************
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv
You can also access this site through the State Department's
Classified SIPRNET website.
********************************************* ********************
CUNNINGHAM
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/21/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV IS JO KPAL
SUBJECT: ISRAELI VIEWS ON JORDANIAN DEVELOPMENTS
REF: A. AMMAN 2424
B. AMMAN 2414
Classified By: DCM Luis G. Moreno, Reason 1.4 (b) (d)
1. (C) Summary. Israel has not reacted publicly to Jordan's
decision to resume its official dialogue with Hamas. MFA DDG
for the Middle East Hadas played down the significance of the
Jordanian move in an August 20 conversation with Pol Couns.
Hadas said the GOI was much more upset by Jordan's decision
to release four prisoners convicted by Israel of killing two
IDF personnel in 1990. Israel returned them to Jordan in
July 2007 with the understanding that they would serve at
least 18 months in jail. Hadas said Jordan's move may have
been legal but it was damaging to Jordan's credibility.
Another Israeli contact with good connections to Jordan told
us recently that lack of progress on the ground in the West
Bank was feeding Jordanian fears about the future. End
Summary.
2. (C) Pol Couns discussed recent developments in Jordan
August 20 with MFA Deputy Director General (A/S equivalent)
for the Middle East Yacov Hadas. Hadas, a recent former
ambassador to Jordan, said the GOI had decided not to comment
publicly on Jordan's decision to resume its official dialogue
with Hamas. Hadas noted that Jordanian intelligence chief
Dahabi, who has been charged with conducting the dialogue, is
known for his hostility to Hamas. Hadas thought the dialogue
did not reflect any change in official Jordanian attitudes
and would likely be short-lived.
3. (C) Hadas saw two reasons behind the Jordanian decision.
First, the Palace wanted to placate pro-Hamas public opinion
and hoped to distract the Jordanian "street" from economic
difficulties, including a severe drought and wheat shortage.
Secondly, Hadas thought Jordan was sending a message to the
U.S. and Israel that Jordan feels isolated and ignored. The
Jordanians, in his view, see the Iranian-led radical bloc as
the ascendent force in the region and are alarmed. Hadas
summed up the Jordanian outlook by quoting one of the Hebrew
prophets: "The wicked prosper while the righteous suffer."
4. (C) Regarding the Jordanian decision to release four
prisoners who had been convicted in Israel of the 1990
killing of an IDF officer and a soldier and who were
repatriated to Jordan in July 2007, however, Hadas said the
Israelis were outraged. Hadas, who was personally involved
in the repatriation negotiations, said that while the
Jordanian decision may have been legal, Jordan had reneged on
its commitment during the negotiations that the prisoners
would serve at least 18 months in prison after their return
to Jordan. The prisoners' release was not critical in
itself, Hadas stressed, but it was damaging to Israel's image
of Jordan as a country that honors its commitments. Hadas
also complained that the Jordanians were again criticizing
Israel's plans to construct a new ramp to the Mughrabi Gate
on the Temple Mount/Haram Al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City.
Hadas said the construction plan had been vetted with the
Jordanians and a revised plan was developed that incorporated
a number of Jordanian requests.
5. (C) Separately, BG (reserve) Baruch Spiegel, an adviser
to President Peres, told Pol Couns that he was concerned
about the state of Israeli relations with Jordan. Spiegel
said that during a recent visit to Amman, he found the
Jordanians deeply alarmed by the lack of progress on the
ground in the West Bank, as well as by continued Israeli
announcements of plans to expand settlements. Spiegel stated
that the settlement activity in particular was reviving
Jordanian suspicions that Israel's real agenda is to solve
the Palestinian issue by turning Jordan into the Palestinian
state.
********************************************* ********************
Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website:
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv
You can also access this site through the State Department's
Classified SIPRNET website.
********************************************* ********************
CUNNINGHAM