US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3408

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003408 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/19/2012 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KPAL, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDANIAN PALESTINIANS NOTCH UP CRITICISM OF ARAFAT 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR EDWARD W. GNEHM FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) While Jordanian Palestinians have long grumbled about 
Arafat, two prominent Jordanian Palestinian leaders recently 
expressed to us a new level of criticism of the PA President. 
 Some Palestinian Jordanians are even calling into question 
Arafat's true nationality in another round of anti-Arafat 
conspiracy theories.  Despite the intensified criticism from 
the more critical thinkers here, Arafat remains the 
emotion-evoking symbol of the Palestinian people for the 
majority of Palestinian Jordanians.  End Summary. 
 
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WHO IS ARAFAT? 
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2. (C) Poloff met separately with former Prime Minister Taher 
al-Masri and former Royal Court Advisor Adnan Abu Odeh on 
June 19, prominent Jordanians of Palestinian origin.  Both 
offered harsh criticism of Arafat.  Taher al-Masri, whose 
brother Maher is a member of Arafat's cabinet, complained 
that Arafat is a major obstacle to reform, which the PA 
desperately needs.  At a World Affairs Council the same 
night, he told the elite audience that Palestinians should 
not reject out of hand U.S. pressure to reform the PA and 
reminded the audience that it was Arafat who refused to sign 
the Judiciary and Basic Law.  Note: Jordanian press 
editorials have also been calling for PA reform, "even though 
it is being directed by the U.S."  Al-Masri also confided to 
Poloff that "if something happens to Arafat, it would not be 
a bad thing" and prefaced his comments by saying he would not 
have said that a few months back. 
 
3. (C) Al-Masri commented on the new PNA cabinet by saying it 
was "an okay first step, as long as it isn't isolated."  He 
also reported that at least 5-6 of those around 
Arafat--including Abu Mazen, Hikmat Zeid, and Nabil Amr--were 
really tough on him in a recent meeting on reform, and Hikmat 
Zeid--who is not part of Arafat's new Cabinet--walked out of 
the room after calling Arafat an "S.O.B.".  According to 
al-Masri, the new PA Minister of Interior and former Special 
Representative of the PLO Commission in Jordan, Abdel Razzak 
al-Yahya, was a moderate who had built a million dollar 
mansion in Amman's ritzy Abdoun area while working for 
Arafat. 
 
4. (C) Abu Odeh, while never fond of Arafat, bitterly 
complained to Poloff about continued corruption among Arafat 
and his cronies and derided Arafat for his limited vocabulary 
and his inability to think conceptually.  Abu Odeh cited 
several examples of the continued corruption and also 
criticized Arafat's campaign to damage the reputation of 
Mustapha Bourgouti, who was being targeted because of his 
increased popularity and his clean reputation.  In response 
to a question about what the U.S. could do to push PA reform, 
Abu Odeh said the U.S. should open an investigation into PA 
corruption and cite several specific examples.  By doing so, 
the U.S. could improve its own reputation at the grass roots 
level, but could avoid blaming Arafat directly.  While Abu 
Odeh applauded some of the new PA Cabinet members, he derided 
the choice of Yahya as Interior Minister.  Like al-Masri, he 
pointed to the million dollar villa in Abdoun that he said 
Arafat built for Yahya and said that Arafat was calling on 
Yahya to return the favor. 
 
5. (C) Interestingly, both Al-Masri and Abu Odeh told Poloff 
that conspiracies about Arafat are on the rise since Arafat's 
negotiations with Israel to lift the sieges on the Muqatta 
and the Church of Nativity.  Al-Masri told Poloff that at a 
recent social gathering, an elderly Palestinian refugee 
alleged that Arafat was originally a Jew.  Al-Masri said many 
were now questioning Arafat's Palestinian bonafides and even 
al-Masri asked why there were few, if any, records of 
Arafat's childhood days in Egypt.  "You can't find one 
neighbor or one childhood friend of Arafat!"  Abu Odeh 
reported similar statements and said people here were 
questioning whether Arafat was Palestinian or Egyptian. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6. (C) While criticism of Arafat and PA corruption are not 
new, we are seeing a resurgence of criticism of Arafat 
similar to what we were hearing prior to Israeli actions that 
isolated Arafat in the Muqatta.  Still, these recent comments 
suggest that at least two of the more critically thinking 
Palestinian Jordanians are beginning to recognize Arafat's 
liabilities.  This does not hold true for the vast majority 
of Palestinian Jordanians who continue to see Arafat not only 
as the President of the PNA, but the symbol of the 
Palestinian struggle as well.  Israeli actions that isolate 
Arafat--such as the re-occupation of Ramallah--only 
strengthen Arafat's emotional appeal here, and make it more 
difficult for voices like al-Masri and Abu Odeh to be heard. 
Gnehm