Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09AMMAN74
2009-01-08 16:33:00
SECRET
Embassy Amman
Cable title:  

"DAY OF RAGE" PROTESTS OVER GAZA AIMED AT UPPING

Tags:  PREL PHUM KPAL JO 
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VZCZCXRO2460
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHKUK RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #0074/01 0081633
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 081633Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4133
INFO RUEHEE/ARAB LEAGUE COLLECTIVE
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000074 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAL JO
SUBJECT: "DAY OF RAGE" PROTESTS OVER GAZA AIMED AT UPPING
PRESSURE ON JORDAN

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 000074

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019
TAGS: PREL PHUM KPAL JO
SUBJECT: "DAY OF RAGE" PROTESTS OVER GAZA AIMED AT UPPING
PRESSURE ON JORDAN

Classified By: Ambassador R. Stephen Beecroft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)


1. (S) Summary: The Government of Jordan (GOJ) is coming
under increased public pressure to react to events in Gaza
and may not be able to hold out much longer, according to
Royal Court Chief Nasser Al-Lozi in a January 7 conversation
with Ambassador. Only days after Prime Minister Nader
Dahabi's remarks about the GOJ's right to revisit its
relationship with Israel, King Abdullah appeared on an
Al-Jazeera program and spoke of a "conspiracy" against
Palestinians. A former advisor to the King appeared in a
separate Al-Jazeera interview likening Gaza operations to
Hiroshima. Separately, Jordanian Islamists appear to be
taking advantage of events in Gaza to expand their base by
reaching out publicly to Hamas. Trade groups and opposition
political parties have announced a number of country-wide
demonstrations scheduled for January 9, calling it a "Day of
Rage." End Summary.

The King Covers His Flank
--------------


2. (S) In a January 7 conversation with Ambassador, Royal
Court Chief Lozi expressed concern about the GOJ's ability to
withstand much longer public anger over events in Gaza and
pressure to support Hamas. In fact, the Jordanian leadership
has already been compelled to take steps to try to placate
the public's outrage and avoid becoming the focus of its
frustration. Two days after the PM declared the GOJ's
willingness to revisit its relationship with Israel before
Parliament on January 4 (ref a),King Abdullah appeared on an
Al-Jazeera program hosted by Yusuf Al-Qardawi, a Qatar-based
Egyptian member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and charged that
there is "a conspiracy being concocted against the
Palestinian people." The King stressed the importance of
stopping the "Israeli aggression" that he said threatened the
two-state solution. A former advisor still closely
associated with the King, Adnan Abu-Odeh, said in a separate
Al-Jazeera interview that he does "not see a big difference
between Hiroshima and the destruction of Gaza" and called on
the Nobel committee to revoke the Nobel Peace Prize awarded
to Israeli President Shimon Peres. Jordan's Foreign Minister
Salah Bashir, who is at the UN in New York, spoke out January
7 against the efforts of the United States, the United
Kingdom, and France in crafting a UN Security Council
Presidential Statement that did not call for the immediate
end of the Israeli campaign.


3. (S) The GOJ is under pressure to dismiss the Israeli
Ambassador from Amman but does not wish to do so, according
to Lozi. He noted that pressure increased after Venezuela
expelled its Israeli envoy and Mauritania recalled its
ambassador to Israel. (Note: Jordan's ambassador to Israel
remains in Amman after a late December ambassadorial-level
conference here, although we understand his family is still
in Tel Aviv. The Jordanians have made clear to us that they
do not want to formally recall him. They cannot, however,
send him back under the current circumstances, as doing so
would exacerbate public unhappiness and open the government
to accusations that it is collaborating with Israel. End
Note.)

Islamists Reach Out to Hamas
--------------


4. (U) Events in Gaza seem to have opened up possibilities
for increased public contact between Jordanian Islamists and
Hamas only months after the resumption of contacts between
the GOJ and Hamas on security issues. Earlier this week, a
60-member Jordanian delegation headed by the Controller
General of the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood,
Hummam Said, visited Hamas Political Director Khaled Mish'al
in Damascus to demonstrate solidarity with the movement,
according to press reports. The delegation consisted of
political parties and professional associations, including a
former member of parliament. Separately, a well-known
government critic for the Al-Arab al-Yawm newspaper, Fahd
al-Khaytan, called in a January 7 editorial for increasing
GOJ-Hamas contacts "as a response to the bullying actions of
the leaders of the Israeli enemy who have violated the Gaza
Strip with the aim of destroying Hamas."

Day of Rage
--------------


5. (SBU) Pressure on the GOJ is likely to continue. Numerous
groups including the Islamic Action Front, the political wing
of the Muslim Brotherhood, and other political parties have
called for a "Day of Rage" January 9 and have organized
marches, demonstrations, and rallies. They have been joined
in their call by a number of professional associations,

AMMAN 00000074 002 OF 002


including the Jordanian Red Cross, Zarqa Chamber of Commerce,
radio stations, the YWCA, and the women's Union and Council
of Church Leaders.

Visit Amman's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman
Beecroft