by Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Despite ending the 25-year deal allowing Israel to lease two parcels of land near border, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi says: "We acted within the provisions of the peace treaty.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi
Photo: Reuters
Jordan said on
Thursday its commitment to upholding the 1994 peace treaty with Israel
was not in question, despite ending a 25-year special land lease that
has allowed Israel to use two parcels of Jordanian land along its
borders.
Jordan formally notified Israel on Sunday
it would not renew the deal over Baqura, known in Israel as Naharayim,
in the northern Jordan Valley, and in the Ghamr area in the southern
Arava Desert, where Israeli farmers have large plantations.
King Abdullah stressed that the territories
were Jordanian lands and would remain so, and said the decision was
made in the "national interest" at a period of regional turmoil.
The 1994 peace treaty recognized the two
areas as being under Jordanian sovereignty but gave Israel special
provisions to use the land and allow Israelis free access. In the Baqura
area, Israeli private property rights were respected.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the deal had been conceived as a temporary arrangement from the start.
"That is why there was a time cap on it.
... We acted within the provisions of the peace treaty. This is an
indication of our commitment to the peace treaty. There has never been a
question of our solid commitment to the treaty," Safadi told Reuters.
Jordan is one of only two Arab states to
have a peace treaty with Israel – the other is Egypt – and the two
countries have a long history of close security ties. But the treaty is
unpopular and pro-Palestinian sentiment is widespread in Jordan.
Safadi said the kingdom had contemplated the move for some time before the Nov. 10 deadline for notification.
Under the peace treaty, the deal would be
automatically renewed unless either of the parties notified the other a
year before expiry that it wished to terminate the agreement.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
acknowledged Jordan's move and said his country would seek negotiations
on the possibility of extending the arrangement.
Safadi said the kingdom was now waiting for
Israel to invoke a provision in the treaty to hold consultations before
the deadline.
"There will be no negotiations over
sovereignty. But we will fulfill our obligation to engage in
consultations to implement the termination," Safadi said.
The king's move was hailed by Jordanian
parliamentarians, who have been vocal against the renewal, saying it is
humiliating and perpetuates Israeli "occupation" of Jordanian territory.
Safadi said Jordan would respect its
obligations toward Israelis in the peace treaty, which demarcated the
borders between the two countries for the first time.
"We will fulfill our legal commitments in a
manner that recognizes whatever rights there are for Israel,
particularly the property rights. We will respect these rights in
accordance with Jordanian laws that respect private property of
non-Jordanians,” Safadi said.
Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/10/26/jordan-says-peace-treaty-unaffected-by-scrapping-land-leases/
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