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Monday, October 22, 2018
King Abdullah II of Jordan announced Sunday that he will not renew Israel’s lease of two tracts of land that fall within Jordanian territory. The lease, agreed upon in a peace treaty signed between the two countries in 1994, is set to expire next year.
The territories stipulated in the treaty are Naharayim and Tzofar, covering a total area of about 405 hectares (1,000 acres). Both annexes have served as agricultural land for Israeli farmers. Eyal Blum, the head of Central Arava Regional Council, in a statement said about 30 Israeli farmers will be affected if a new agreement is not reached.
Leading up to his announcement, Abdullah II had been under pressure within parliament and from the the public to cancel the lease. Protests in Amman last Friday urged the king to come to the decision, as did a petition signed by 87 members of Jordan’s parliament.
In response to the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his intent to enter negotiations to “extend the existing agreement,” which states that the lease renews automatically unless either party wishes otherwise, and that party must give a year’s notice. The deadline for this is Thursday.
Abdullah II’s decision, though coming as a shock to most Israeli officials, is not expected to create a diplomatic crisis. Relations between Israel and Jordan have been strained recently over an impasse in Israel’s peace talks with the Palestinians and a shooting incident last year involving an Israeli security guard in the country’s embassy in Amman.