Israeli vitality minister hails water settlement in Jordan

Israel and Jordan agreed right this moment on a plan for Israel to double the amount of contemporary water it offers to the drought-stricken Hashemite Kingdom. Power Minister Karine Elharrar met her counterpart, Jordanian Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammed Al-Najjar, to signal the settlement in Jordan. Israel’s Ambassador to Jordan Eitan Surkis, Jordanian Ambassador to Israel Ghassan Al-Majali and the heads of the Israeli and Jordanian water authorities have been additionally current on the signing ceremony.

Elharar informed Al-Monitor that head of the Israel Water Authority Giora Shaham negotiated on Israel’s behalf. “This is a matter I’ve been coping with ever since taking workplace 4 months in the past. Our goal was clear: to help our neighbor Jordan in dealing with the horrible water scarcity and drought misery it’s affected by. Thus, we agreed to double the amount of water we provide to Jordan yearly. The unique settlement, anchored within the peace treaty between the 2 nations, stipulates that Israel will present Jordan with 50 million cubic meters of water yearly. We’re doubling it to 100 million cubic meters for this yr with an choice to proceed equally for the subsequent two years as effectively.”

Elharar famous that for the reason that two nations signed the peace settlement, there have been only a few events the place senior Israeli officers met with Jordanian counterparts and pictures of the occasion have been revealed. “I imagine this settlement that we reached and our assembly right this moment on the ministerial degree will improve bilateral relations,” she mentioned. “In truth, I believe that the ceremony in itself and what it represents is already a harbinger for higher diplomatic relations.”

The Overseas Ministry in Jerusalem acknowledged right this moment that the assembly “highlights the importance of Israel-Jordan ties in strengthening neighborly relations and selling cooperation amongst nations of the area, the significance of cooperation on the problem of water as an impetus for selling additional relations between nations and the solidarity that exists between neighbors who’re all going through water shortages attributable to local weather change and regional demographics.”

Shaham mentioned on the ceremony, “The skilled cooperation between Jordan and Israel throughout the Joint Water Committee permits us to formulate joint solutions to the challenges of the climate crisis and to strengthen water relations between the 2 nations on the idea of excellent neighborliness {and professional} water administration.”

The 2 nations have been first reported to be engaged on a water settlement final July. On July 8, Israeli information retailers reported that Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had secretly met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in his Amman palace the week earlier than. Bennett reportedly knowledgeable the king that Israel would agree to promote the dominion extra water than the quota put forth within the 1994 bilateral peace settlement.

In parallel, Overseas Minister Yair Lapid additionally traveled to Jordan at the start of July for a gathering with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Overseas Minister Ayman Safadi. Agreements on each commerce and water cooperation have been reached, cementing the unique settlement reached between Bennett and the king.  

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