Israeli farmers from Moshav Tzofar are scheduled to hold a small ceremony on Thursday afternoon to mark the end of a 25-year land lease from neighboring Jordan that had been set out under the terms of the 1994 peace deal between the two countries. Members of IDF Division 80 and farmers from Tzofar are set to take part in the ceremony that will be held in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions. Under an annex in the 1994 peace deal with Israel, a 25-year arrangement was reached in which land at Naharayim and Tzofar, which had been set to be returned to Jordan, remained in Israeli hands. It was expected that after 25 years, the Hashemite Kingdom would extend the arrangement. But in light of strained relations between Israel and Jordan, the Hashemite Kingdom ended the arrangement last year. Jewish-owned land, which Israeli farmers retained access to at what is known as the Island of Peace, was handed over to Jordan in November. A special arrangement was made for farmers at Moshav Tzofar who had been leasing Jordanian land to leave the land only this spring, so they could harvest pepper crops they had sown on the 1,100 dunams. The end of the land lease comes as tensions have increased with Jordan over Israeli plans to annex West Bank settlements as early as July. Jordan has opposed the move, which many speculate could destabilize the Hashemite rule. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has spoken against the move with foreign officials, including his counterparts in Russia, Germany, Japan and France.
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