VZCZCXRO7003
PP RUEHROV
DE RUEHAM #2955/01 1901527
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091527Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY AMMAN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9473
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002955 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KISL IS JO
SUBJECT: RETURN OF PRISONERS FROM ISRAEL WELCOMED; TERMS OF 
DEAL USED AS POLITICAL FOOTBALL 
 
REF: A. AMMAN 2668 
     ¶B. AMMAN 2613 
     ¶C. 05 AMMAN 3126 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary and comment:  Jordanians broadly welcomed 
the transfer from Israel of four Jordanian prisoners who had 
been serving life sentences there.  Nonetheless, the GOJ 
faces some criticism for agreeing to their continued 
confinement, and for a lack of progress on the cases of some 
thirty other Jordanians held in Israeli prisons and 
twenty-five more Jordanian citizens considered "missing" in 
Israel.  With municipal elections imminent, both the 
government and opposition are trying to make the most out of 
the issue.  End Summary and comment. 
 
¶2.  (U) On July 5, Israel transferred to Jordan four 
prisoners - Sultan Ajlouni, Khaled Abu Ghalioun, Salem Abu 
Ghalioun, and Ameen Sanea - who received life sentences in 
1990 for killing two Israeli soldiers after infiltrating into 
the West Bank and ambushing an Israeli patrol.  Prime 
Minister Bakhit said to reporters at a press conference 
following the arrival of the prisoners that the transfer was 
achieved after extensive diplomatic efforts, and that "there 
were two options, either accept the transfer of the prisoners 
and detain them...or to leave them in Israeli jails for 
life."  Foreign Minister Khatib told reporters that the deal 
"was the best that could be achieved given legal 
complications." 
 
EDITORIAL SNIPING 
------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) The GOJ's somewhat defensive tone is the result of 
critics arguing that the government failed in its 
negotiations, as the prisoners will have to serve time 
(reportedly for "at least" 18 months, but described by PM 
Bakhit as "no more than" 18 months) in Jordanian prisons. 
Nabil Ghishan, columnist for the independent opposition 
Arabic daily Al Arab al-Yawm questioned the motives of the 
GOJ in accepting the transfer, observing that the four will 
remain imprisoned despite the "heroic" acts they undertook 
against Israeli forces.  Columnist Samih Maaitah of the 
independent Arabic daily Al-Ghad argued that the deal is 
"booby-trapped" and does not benefit the prisoners. 
 
¶4. (U) Countering the critical commentary, Al-Ghad's 
Editor-in-Chief Ayman Safadi argued that despite the 
confinement in Jordan, the transfer is an "achievement," and 
"no sane and reasonable person can argue that imprisonment in 
Jordan is a thousand times better than a life sentence in an 
Israeli prison."  Safadi added that the "GOJ has done its 
utmost and the result is the best that could be achieved in 
light of Israeli rigidness."  Columnist Nusuh al Majali of 
Al-Rai, an independent Arabic daily considered close to the 
government, warned against insinuations about the GOJ, and 
added that skeptics "hold on to unrealizable demands because 
they are not in positions of authority where they would have 
to translate their slogans into action...(P)eople are smart 
and can differentiate between justified logical criticism and 
political stances that aim to score points and play on 
emotions." 
 
IAF, TRADE UNIONS CONDEMN PRISONER DEAL 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) In this election year (municipal polling takes place 
on July 31, with parliamentary elections later in the fall), 
Jordan's largest political party, the Islamic Action Front 
(IAF), quickly staked out a critical position, strongly 
condemning the GOJ for approving the deal.  IAF Deputy 
Secretary General Rahil Gharaibeh said "it is illogical for 
 
SIPDIS 
the GOJ to be involved in the implementation of a verdict 
issued by Zionist courts," and that "the imprisonment of the 
four men in Jordan contradicts logic as they did not commit 
any crime under Jordanian law."  Jordan's Islamist-dominated 
trade unions called the four prisoners "heroes who fought the 
Zionist entity" and urged the GOJ to release them.  The IAF 
also urged the GOJ to step up efforts to ensure the release 
of approximately 30 Jordanians held in Israeli prisons and to 
obtain information on 25 Jordanians missing in Israel.  NOTE: 
The GOJ periodically raises with the GOI the matter of its 
prisoners in Israeli jails.  According to press reports, 
approximate ly 30 Jordanians are imprisoned in Israel on 
charges ranging from security and political offenses to 
criminal transgressions or expired visas.  END NOTE. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) The GOJ and Islamist oppositionists are both using 
the prisoner transfer as they seek to bolster their public 
 
AMMAN 00002955  002 OF 002 
 
 
opinion ratings.  The GOJ claims a diplomatic victory in 
securing the release of four of its citizens, while the IAF - 
bent on discrediting the government - asserts that the deal 
harms Jordan's sovereignty and insults Jordanians because the 
prisoners are "heroes who defended the country."  The IAF's 
campaign may also stem from recent public opinion hits it has 
taken as a result of its association by many Jordanians with 
Hamas.  Pro-government editorials and other opposition 
parties have recently taken the IAF to task for failing to 
condemn the Hamas takeover in Gaza (reftels), and it appears 
the IAF is striking back.   However, even limited progress on 
the issue of Jordanian prisoners in Israel -- a hardy 
perennial with which the IAF and the syndicates beat up on 
the GoJ - is a big step towards tamping down its propaganda 
value to the opposition. 
Rubinstein