MUGHRABI GATE: JORDAN SET TO REMAIN OBSTRUCTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002126 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2019 TAGS: IS JO KWBG PREL UNESCO SUBJECT: MUGHRABI GATE: JORDAN SET TO REMAIN OBSTRUCTIVE IN PARIS UNESCO MEETING REF: A. TEL AVIV 1957 ¶B. AMMAN 1988 Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: With the standoff over Mughrabi Gate as intractable as ever, Jordan is again opting for a strategy of obstructionism. Prior to his departure for the UNESCO meetings in Paris, MFA Americas Bureau Chief Samer Naber again indicated that Jordan would not respond to Israeli overtures without assurances that its technical team be allowed to measure the site. When pressed on the ultimate utility of distracting from the business of UNESCO, Naber indicated that Jordan's strategy went no further than registering its displeasure. He did paradoxically note that Jordan remained open to cooperating on construction and financing of the project, however. While Naber said that Jordanian objections on Mughrabi Gate were not meant to create a distraction in the run up to negotiations on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a recent spate of media stories may indicate otherwise. End Summary. "No Movement" -------------- ¶2. (C) Poloff met on September 15 with Samer Naber, Chief of the Americas Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in advance of his trip to Paris, where he will represent Jordan at the upcoming UNESCO meetings. Naber reported "no movement" in Jordan's quest to gain access for its technical experts to take measurements of the Mughrabi Gate ascent to the Haram Al-Sharif/Temple Mount. Israel has offered on several occasions to meet with Jordanian officials to discuss its plans for the ascent, but those requests have so far fallen short of allowing measurement to proceed. Jordan To Remain Obstructive -------------- ¶3. (C) When pressed on Jordan's ultimate goal in obstructing business at UNESCO, Naber fell back on his talking points. After raising Jordan's desire to do what was best for the "historic integrity" of the site, Naber reiterated Jordan's need to "document Israel's unilateral actions." When asked about the goal of continued intransigence when Israel seems ever more likely to move forward with its design regardless of Jordanian objections, Naber had no substantive answer. He vaguely hinted that a move forward by Israel on Mughrabi gate would "impact bilateral relations," but gave no indication about the details of any future actions. ¶4. (C) Naber acknowledged that there was little or no room for bilateral negotiation or agreement on Mughrabi Gate. Jordan continues to insist on measuring the site in order to produce a competing design, and Israel continues to insist that measuring the site is not an option. When asked if there was anything that Israel could do short of offering to measure that would assuage Jordan's concerns, Naber admitted that Jordan's position was solid, and admitted no further room for maneuver. In the event that the Israeli design goes forward, however, Naber indicated that Jordan remains open to the possibility of financing part of the ascent or assisting in its construction. ¶5. (C) Naber also delineated the limits of Jordan's willingness to make a scene internationally on Mughrabi Gate. Speaking about Special Envoy Mitchell's work towards a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Naber said that Jordan did not want to distract from the overall move towards peace by focusing on the minutae of the Mughrabi Gate issue. While Jordan may be looking to include a concession on Mughrabi Gate as part of regional confidence building measures in advance of negotiations, Naber said that it will not use Mughrabi Gate as a means to delay progress. Media Rumblings -------------- ¶6. (U) A string of stories has recently appeared in the official Petra news agency about the "Judaization" of Jerusalem and the King's efforts to protect Muslim shrines. A September 14 item said that the King would "continue to protect the holy city of Jerusalem and reject any unilateral act implemented by Israel in order to change the identity of holy sites." On September 10, a similar story had Azzam Khatib, the director of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, saying that "Jordan is the only country that has jurisdiction to manage and administer Al-Aqsa mosque and the government does not acknowledge Israeli law pertaining to the holy sites in Jerusalem." AMMAN 00002126 002 OF 002 Comment -------------- ¶7. (C) Jordan remains committed to its all-or-nothing strategy on Mughrabi Gate. While it will likely continue to raise fruitless objections in international fora, Jordan remains unwilling to talk about a way forward that is suitable for both sides. Assuming that Israel ultimately goes forward with its design unilaterally, it remains unclear what damage to the bilateral relationship could ensue. Naber's comments and the recent spate of official news stories are signals that Jordan is reserving the right to escalate its rhetoric over the issue, but how it would specifically respond seems to still be under debate. Beecroft