JORDAN: KING,S CHIEF ADVISOR SAYS SUSTAINED

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 002225 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV JO SUBJECT: JORDAN: KING,S CHIEF ADVISOR SAYS SUSTAINED ACCOUNTABILITY ON ISRAEL NEEDED IN PEACE PROCESS Classified By: Classified by Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) This cable has been cleared by CENTCOM POLAD Michael Gfoeller. ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: CENTCOM Policy Advisor Michael Gfoeller met with Royal Court International Affairs Advisor Jaffar Hassan on September 27. In the meeting, Hassan outlined Jordan's views on Middle East peace, Afghanistan, and regional security issues. Hassan said that a comprehensive agreement to Middle East peace is preferred even if it takes longer, so long as the U.S. is seen to maintain pressure and accountability on Israel. Hassan believes lack of a peace agreement is inhibiting regional cooperation on Iran. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (C) Middle East Peace: Hassan said that President Obama and Senator Mitchell are playing a tremendously positive role in fostering a two state solution. Jordan, he said, does not insist on preconditions for final status talks, including an Israeli settlement freeze, as long as the U.S. maintains pressure on Israel regarding the settlements. Comprehensive talks that fully address the status of Jerusalem and refugees are better than splitting off key issues into separate tracks. He said Jordan expects to play a role in any discussion over Palestinian rights. "The U.S. must continue pushing in a sustained way. Israel must be seen to be held accountable by the international community," he said. ¶4. (C) Israel and the Holy Sites: Hassan said the Israeli body politic has shifted to the right. Hassan said that actions by Israel and conservative Jews to prevent access to the Harem, the Mughrabi Gate, and other Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem directly undercut Jordan's authority as protector of the sites. Such actions benefit extremists and tie Jordan's hands in calling for restraint. ¶5. (C) Afghanistan: Hassan stressed the need to build up Afghanistan's security apparatus quickly saying, "We don't see (support) for a long-term international military presence in Afghanistan." Hassan offered that a good approach to breaking the Taliban's hold in much of the country would be to open a dialogue with Taliban moderates, thereby isolating extremists. ¶6. (C) Regional Security and Cooperation: Hassan briefly touched on regional issues. He said that although the specter of an Iranian nuclear program was a grave concern for Jordan, military action in Iran would neither be helpful nor supported in the region. On Yemen, he encouraged support for the current government saying that a failed state in Yemen would be unacceptable. If the government were to fall, he said, no country in the region would support intervention there, leaving a situation "worse than Somalia." Jordan has never had stronger relationships with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Syria as a group, he said, as well as with Iraq. Many regional governments are on the same page with respect to Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other regional issues. These governments form what he called "an Arab depth." However, the Israel-Palestinian conflict, he said, remains the "binding restraint" preventing regional cooperation on many of these issues. (COMMENT: The notion that the lack of an agreement in the Is rael-Palestinian conflict is the primary impediment preventing broader Arab cooperation, particularly on Iran, has often been repeated by senior Jordanian senior officials. End Comment.) Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman Beecroft