US embassy cable - 03AMMAN7690

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 007690 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/24/2013 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN TERMS ISRAELI RELEASE OF 10 PRISONERS 
"POSITIVE"; NEGOTIATIONS TO CONTINUE 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 7657 (NOTAL) 
 
     B. AMMAN 7402 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Edward W. Gnehm for reasons 1.5 (b and d) 
 
1.  (U)  Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher told the 
press that the Israeli cabinet decision on November 23 to 
release ten Jordanian prisoners as part of an Eid al-Fitr 
gesture was a "positive development," but that the GOJ would 
continue to work towards the release of all Jordanians in 
Israeli custody.  Muasher said his Israeli counterpart Silvan 
Shalom informed him of the decision.  The prisoners are 
expected to arrive in Jordan on November 25, the first day of 
the Feast marking the end of Ramadan. 
 
2.  (U)  "The release came as a response to the efforts 
exerted by His Majesty King Abdullah and the government in 
this regard," Muasher said in a press statement, stressing 
"at the same time that this is the first group of prisoners 
who will be released."  He added:  "We will continue our 
efforts to release the remaining prisoners, and following Eid 
al-Fitr there will be intensive negotiations to secure their 
release." 
 
3.  (U)  Muasher did not reveal the identities of the ten 
prisoners, but press reports suggest four were being held for 
"security reasons," (two on weapons and/or explosives charges 
and two for "anti-Israeli activities.")  The other six were 
being held for illegal entry into Israel. 
 
4.  (U)  Meanwhile, in a scathing lead editorial, the 
normally subdued, pro-government English-language Jordan 
Times slammed the Israeli decision, charging that "to most 
Jordanians, Sharon's gesture is more a humiliation and a 
provocation, than anything else."  The editorial, titled 
"With Friends Like These," noted that "adding insult to 
injury, the right-wing Sharon government almost appears more 
responsive and at ease in negotiations with Hizballah than 
with a sovereign country with which it has a peace treaty." 
 
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COMMENT 
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5.  (C)  This is a small but unsatisfactory victory for 
Muasher who has taken the lead in contentious prisoner 
release negotiations with Israel (ref A notal).  We suspect 
GOJ officials' true feelings are more in line with the Jordan 
Times misleading editorial than Muasher's public statements. 
What Muasher really wanted and what we expect he will keep 
pushing on is the release the four Jordanians arrested before 
the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty (reftel B). 
 
Please visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov/p/nea/amman/ or access the site through 
the Department of State's SIPRNET home page. 
GNEHM