US embassy cable - 02AMMAN3936

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 003936 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KPAL, CASC, KWBG, IS, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN TIGHTENS BORDER BUT PROMISES SOME 
LOOSENING...AFTER MESSAGE TO ISRAEL IS MADE 
 
REF: A. 01 AMMAN 3763 B. JERUSALEM 2027 
 
Classified By: EDWARD W. GNEHM FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) Despite public reassurances that travel restrictions 
on Palestinians entering Jordan have been eased, tacit 
acknowledgments made privately by Jordanian officials 
buttressed by anecdotal evidence indicate that a quota system 
is in place to restrict the number of Palestinians who can 
cross into Jordan.  This has affected Palestinian Americans 
in many cases (Ref B), though senior Jordanian officials have 
undertaken to ease the restrictions on transiting Palestinian 
Americans.  In the end, however, Jordanian officials are 
unlikely to allow Palestinians--even those with valid 
Jordanian travel documents--unrestricted travel to Jordan 
until the humanitarian situation eases across the river and 
fears of a mass refugee flow diminishes. 
 
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GOJ BORDER RESTRICTIONS EASED...BUT THERE ARE STILL 
RESTRICTIONS 
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2. (C) When the Israelis began "Operation Defensive Shield" 
in March, the GOJ virtually shut down the border as a 
precaution against any mass movements.  Until recently, the 
GOJ allowed Palestinians entry to Jordan only in three 
categories: for medical emergencies, for study, and for 
transit to a third country.  Jordanian officials eased those 
restrictions at the end of June in coordination with the 
Palestinian Interior Ministry.  On July 16, the Palestinian 
Authority published in the Jordanian daily newspaper 
al-Dustor a list of categories of Palestinians who can cross 
into Jordan, reportedly based on agreements worked out 
between the PA and the GOJ.  According to the article, 
Palestinians who are yellow card holders--thus having 
Jordanian citizenship and usually traveling on a Jordanian 
passport--are allowed to cross at any time.  However, green 
card holders--who have usually either forfeited Jordanian 
citizenship when they returned to the West Bank or are West 
Bank residents with East Bank jobs--are allowed entry only if 
they have Jordanian relatives who can request prior approval 
for their travel from GOJ officials (or, based on our 
experience, can prove they have jobs to return to in Jordan). 
 For a more detailed description of yellow card holders vs. 
green card holders, please see Ref A.  The article also 
details the exceptions who are given permission to cross: 
students registered or intending to register at Jordanian 
Universities, medical and humanitarian cases, PA staff, 
businessmen, Palestinians who have proof of travel to a third 
country, and those who can prove passage to weddings or 
funerals.  PA officials also urged West Bank residents not to 
travel to the border unless they fall into one of these 
categories. 
 
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PALESTINIANS WELCOME, IN CONTROLLED NUMBERS 
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3.  (C) From the official Jordanian optic, the increased 
number of Palestinians at the border reflects a normal 
seasonal spike.  Foreign Minister Muasher recently explained 
to the Ambassador that the numbers at the border have 
increased in the recent weeks, but they are in line with 
previous summers as West Bank Palestinians seek entry to 
visit relatives in Jordan, attend weddings, etc.  While 
Minister of the Interior Qaftan Majali has said publicly that 
"movement across the bridge is normal" and GOJ officials have 
publicly said roughly 1,000 Palestinians are crossing a day, 
Palestinian Jordanian contacts and press reports claim that 
the GOJ is only allowing 350 Palestinian I.D. holders to 
cross a day.  We understand that there is daily communication 
between the Israeli and Jordanian sides before the border 
opens to assure no Palestinians clear the Israeli side 
without permission to enter the Jordanian side. 
 
4. (C) GID Director Said Kheir confirmed to the Ambassador 
that the number of Palestinians crossing into Jordan is in 
fact being "controlled" because of "security-driven 
concerns".  The foremost of these concerns is that declining 
humanitarian conditions in the West Bank will trigger another 
Palestinian exodus.  In restricting the number of 
Palestinians allowed to cross, the GOJ is reinforcing the 
message to the Israelis that Jordan will not be used as a 
safety valve.  This policy is a direct consequence of the 
divide separating Palestinian Jordanians and East Bankers. 
Already a minority, East Bankers fear that a new influx of 
Palestinian refugees would fundamentally change the nature of 
the state. 
 
5. (C) We defer to Congen Jerusalem as to conditions in the 
West Bank, but we hear anecdotes from travelers which paint a 
fairly grim picture.  Due to curfews and decreased mobility, 
Palestinians in the West Bank are reportedly having 
difficulties procuring airline tickets to prove that they are 
entering Jordan to transit.  Palestinians unable to cross at 
Allenby are trapped in Jericho because road blocks and 
closures inhibit their ability to return home, according to 
Embassy contacts.  Compounding the misery of being trapped in 
Jericho, Palestinian Jordanian contacts have complained that 
corruption has proliferated as the back-up across the river 
has increased.  Companies that facilitate the bridge crossing 
have reportedly doubled their fees. 
 
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THE PALESTINIAN AMERICAN DILEMMA...RELIEF IN SIGHT? 
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6. (C) Per Ref B, the situation has affected many Palestinian 
Americans who have been unable to transit through Jordan to 
return to the U.S.  While third country nationals are able to 
travel easily into Jordan as "tourists", Palestinian American 
dual citizens who have Palestinian I.D. cards are being 
treated as Palestinians, and as such come under the quota 
system.  The Ambassador has pressed GOJ officials, most 
recently GID director Said Kheir, to allow Palestinian 
Americans to be processed as third country nationals instead 
of as Palestinians.  Kheir agreed to liberalize the process 
to facilitate the movement of Palestinian Americans into 
Jordan and we understand that the situation has eased in some 
individual cases.  We are working on a more systematic 
solution.  Conoff visited the Jordanian side of the Allenby 
bridge on July 16 to view the situation (see septel). 
 
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COMMENT 
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7. (C) Ultimately, this problem will recur as long as 
Jordanian officials worry about the political consequences of 
unrestricted access to Jordan for Palestinians.  An 
improvement in the humanitarian situation in the West Bank 
would do something to ease Jordanian concerns, though only 
genuine progress in the MEPP is likely to make a decisive 
difference for Jordanian policy.  In the meantime, we will 
continue to work to mitigate the effects of long-established 
policy. 
Gnehm