Jordan’s King Abdullah II (R) greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2010. (photo credit: JASON REED/REUTERS)
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In a surprise announcement, Jordan said Sunday that it will not renew its lease to Israel of the Naharayim (Baqura) area near the Kinneret nor part of Zofar (al Ghamar), some 120 km north of Eilat.
Under the 1994 Jordan-Israel peace agreement, these two areas “will fall under Jordanian sovereignty with Israeli private land use rights. These rights include unimpeded freedom of entry to, exit from and movement within the area. These areas are not subject to customs or immigration legislation.
These rights will remain in force for 25 years and will be renewed automatically for the same period unless either country wishes to terminate the arrangement, in which case consultations will be taken.”
According to the agreement, the annex governing the two areas “will remain in force for 25 years, and shall be renewed automatically for the same periods, unless one year prior notice of termination is given by either Party, in which case, at the request of either Party, consultations shall be entered into.”
October 25 marks that one year deadline.
The Royal Palace issued a statement on Sunday saying that “Baqura and Ghamr areas have always been our top priority, and our decision is to end Article 2 of Annexes I (b) of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, emanating from our keenness to take whatever is necessary for Jordan and the Jordanians.”
Prime Minister Benmajmin Netanyahu said that Israel would enter into negotiations with Jordan over the matter.
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While Netanyahu made no mention of this, there are certain benefits to Jordan – such as allowing planes going to and from the country from Europe and other points west to overfly Israel on the way to and from Jordan – that could be used as leverage to convince Amman to change its mind.
Speaking of the Jordanian announcement at a memorial service on the 23rd anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, who signed the treaty with Jordan, Netanyahu said that “there is no doubt that from a comprehensive perspective, the entire agreement is an important asset, important and valuable to both countries.”
Already in March, the Jordan Times reported that Amman was mulling terminating the treaty annexes, with Foreign Minister Ayman saying in parliament in response to a question about the issue that “the government is currently examining its decision regarding the nature of use of the Baqura and Ghumar areas in a way that serves the higher national interests,” Safadi said.
According to the report, ending the Israeli lease of the Baqoura and Ghumar areas has been a pressing demand of MPs, political parties and activists.
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