DEMARCHE DELIVERED: JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGES ISRAELI

S E C R E T AMMAN 002618 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/03/2019 TAGS: KPAL KWBG PREL IS JO SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: JORDAN ACKNOWLEDGES ISRAELI SETTLEMENT MORATORIUM BUT FOCUSES ON JERUSALEM REF: SECSTATE 122731 Classified By: CDA Lawrence Mandel for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) POLOFF delivered reftel points to Samer Naber, the Director of the MFA Americas Office. Naber acknowledged our points, and further privately agreed that the proposed settlement freeze that had been intended to build momentum for bilateral negotiations had instead become an obstacle to the resumption of talks. Naber also stated several concerns about the suggested moratorium. He expressed unease that Arab acceptance of a unilateral Israeli action that excluded Jerusalem from its purview could be taken as a precedent for excluding Jerusalem from final status talks as well. He asked if the USG could guarantee that it would not accept such an Israeli maneuver in the future. POLOFF reiterated that US policy toward Jerusalem was not affected by this GOI proposal. Naber also recognized that King Abdullah II had publicly discussed the conditions under which negotiations could resume even in the absence of the desired full settlement halt. ¶2. (C) Naber then took the opportunity to discuss the importance of Jerusalem's holy sites to the negotiation process. He commented that unilateral Israeli actions affecting the Al Aqsa mosque and other religious sites were likely to provoke violence. He specifically cited the recent disturbances on the Haram, fears of Israeli tunneling under the site, and "provocative" official and unofficial Israeli visits to the Mount, especially those that had not been previously coordinated with the Waqf. He stated that FM Judah had discussed this issue extensively with him in previous meetings and had told Naber and others that a USG statement acknowledging the importance of protecting these sites could be a valuable step and would be highly appreciated by the GOJ. Naber stated that a broad statement that simply called on the parties to honor their commitments under previous agreements and international humanitarian law would perhaps be sufficient. ¶3. (C) COMMENT: Naber's comments highlighted again the central role of Jerusalem in GOJ deliberations on peace process issues, as well as GOJ's particular sensitivity about Jordan's custodial role over religious sites in the Old City. The manner in which Naber raised the issue of the protection of Jerusalem's holy sites in this context seemed to imply at least a soft linkage between reftel proposals and a USG acknowledgment of the importance of protecting these sites. END COMMENT Mandel