US embassy cable - 04AMMAN6545

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 006545 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, KPAL, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: KING'S SLAP AT PA STIRS CONTROVERSY 
 
REF: FBIS GMP20040803000243 
 
Classified By: CDA David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b)(d) 
 
1.  (C)  Summary.  King Abdullah's comments about the stymied 
peace process during a prime-time interview with al-Arabiya 
has sparked controversy, prompting Palestinian officials to 
seek "clarification" from Amman.  The King reiterated the 
importance of the roadmap.  In response to a suggestion that 
Jordan was not sufficiently supportive of the Palestinians, 
the King expressed frustration at the Palestinian 
leadership's shifting demands, noting the difficulty this 
causes outsiders -- including Jordan -- in trying to assist 
their cause.  The King's press adviser says the King's 
comments were misconstrued by certain press outlets as a 
rebuke to the PA for making too many concessions; in fact, he 
was criticizing a failure by Palestinian leaders to accept 
reasonable offers at the time they are acceptable to others. 
End Summary. 
 
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KING EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION WITH PALESTINIAN LEADERS 
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2.  (U)  During a 30-minute interview with al-Arabiya on 
August 3 (see reftel for full transcript), King Abdullah 
called on Palestinians and Israelis to implement their 
commitments outlined in the roadmap as a way out of the 
stymied peace process.  In response to a question about the 
King's reported call for Arafat to consider stepping aside, 
the King said that only the Palestinian people can choose 
their leadership, adding that the onus is on the Palestinian 
leaders to "correct some of the mistakes which the world 
takes as justification for blaming the Palestinian side."  He 
called on Palestinian leaders to articulate a "clear 
vision... (and present the PA as an institution) that the 
whole world can deal with as a real partner for achieving the 
final settlement (based on) land for peace."  He said Jordan 
will insist on a role in determining the final solution of 
refugees, and will not "replace Israeli tanks with Jordanian 
tanks" in the West Bank. 
 
3.  (U)  Asked about accusations that Jordan seeks to 
interfere in Palestinian affairs, the King replied (in a near 
exasperated tone) that Jordan "has been subjected since the 
reign of King Abdullah I ... to an unfair campaign of 
accusations, and skepticism of the Jordanian role towards the 
Palestinian cause.  If Jordan tried to speak about this 
cause, or attempted to offer assistance, Jordan is said to 
interfere...or that it has avid interest in the West Bank. 
Now if Jordan were not to do that, it is said that it is 
giving up providing assistance to its Palestinian brethren." 
 
4.  (U)  Queried about Palestinian complaints that they have 
been abandoned by the world, he responded: "First the 
Palestinian people must tell us how they want us to help them 
and with what.  At the beginning, the talk was about the 
return of 98 percent of the occupied Palestinian territory, 
then it was changed to a talk of less than 50 percent of 
these territories.  We do not know in a year or two years, 
what percentage the talk will be about.  As for the refugee 
issue, talk was on their return and compensation, however, we 
find now that the talk is concerning the return of a small 
percentage of them."  The King's frustration was clear as he 
added: "We wish the Palestinian leadership would determine 
for us...what it wants, and not to surprise us every now and 
then with decisions and acceptance of issues it has rejected 
in the past." 
 
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KING'S COMMENTS DRAW FIRE FROM SOME QUARTERS 
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5.  (U)  Press reports of King Abdullah's comments prompted 
harsh reaction from Palestinian quarters, including the 
Palestinian prime minister and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. 
Ahmad Qur'eia told reporters he would dispatch a high-level 
delegation to Amman to discuss "the reality" of the situation 
and clarify Jordan's position.  Foreign Minister Muasher 
subsequently talked with Qur'eia to smooth over any 
misunderstandings.  Terming King Abdullah's comments as 
"strange," a masked Brigades member said in a video broadcast 
by al-Arabiya: "The kings and leaders of Arabs should have 
prevented Sharon the butcher from committing massacres 
against our people...tore down the segregation wall, and 
supported our people in their struggle....they should have 
taken a position that would force the world to (recognize) 
the right to return and self-determination." 
 
6.  (C)  Some contacts were angry because they believe it is 
inappropriate for the King -- or any other Arab leader -- to 
criticize the Palestinian leadership given the current dire 
political situation.  However, Jordanian officials say that 
that the King's remarks were consistent with long-standing 
Jordanian policy and that some press outlets misrepresented 
his statements.  The head of the King's media office told IO 
that al-Arabiya (followed by UPI and others) took the King 
out of context by using only a part of the interview (his 
comments about "concessions") in its news bulletins before 
airing the complete interview.  She said the King's party was 
already on the plane en route to Amman when this was going on 
and was unable to fix the problem while they were in the air. 
 
7.  (C)  Political Science professor at Yarmouk University 
Mohammad al-Momani said he was surprised by the negative 
reaction because he viewed the full interview and did not 
find it as "aggressive" as the press portrayed it.  He said 
he finds it "interesting" that people so readily attack 
anyone that criticizes the PA leadership.  "They are not 
saints, after all," he told PolOff.  Director of the World 
Affairs Council in Jordan Fakhri Abu Shakra considered the 
King's statements balanced, but it was clear King Abdullah 
was speaking out of "bitterness" and "disappointment" over 
the spiraling chaos in the West Bank and Gaza.  He speculated 
to PolOff that a recent interview Arafat gave to an Israeli 
paper recently suggesting his willingness to compromise 
further may have also prompted the King's frustration about 
the Palestinians' "shifting" positions. 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (C)  Many press outlets got the story wrong.  The King is 
criticizing the Palestinian leadership for rejecting 
pragmatic, implementable positions at the appropriate time, 
only to later decide that those positions were, after all, 
wise and acceptable.  The King's comments harken back to the 
old adage first voiced by Abba Ebban that the Palestinians 
"never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity."  The 
King's allusion to his great-grandfather is seen by some here 
as a punctuation mark on that criticism, as King Abdullah I 
was assassinated by a Palestinian for advocating positions 
that were subsequently -- but too late to be effective -- 
embraced by future Palestinian leaders. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified website at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman/ 
or access the site through the State Department's SIPRNET 
home page. 
HALE