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The official Israeli channel “Kan” said that Tel Aviv is considering stopping pumping water to Jordan and not extending the agreement, after statements described as “anti-Israel” from senior officials in the Kingdom, led by the Jordanian Foreign Minister. Ayman Al-Safadiabout what relates to the war on Gaza.
Under the current water agreement, Israel transfers 100 million cubic meters of water to Jordan every year, instead of 50 million cubic meters of water, as stipulated in the peace agreement between the two countries, in exchange for the production of electricity in Jordan for Israel.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi criticized the war that Israel has been waging against Gaza since October 7, saying that “nothing justifies the war in Gaza,” stressing that “the war is not self-defense, but rather blatant aggression from Israel, and Jordan will do so.” “Everything necessary to prevent the displacement of Palestinians.”
Water versus electricity
Last November 17, Al-Safadi announced the suspension of the “water in exchange for electricity” agreement between Israel and Jordan since the start of the war.
Al-Safadi said – in an interview with Al Jazeera at the time – “We will not be able to continue the energy-for-water agreement, because a Jordanian minister cannot sit next to an Israeli minister to sign an agreement, while they are killing our brothers in Gaza.”
Al-Safadi’s statements came in the wake of escalating demands in Jordan for the government to refrain from signing the energy exchange agreement, which is known in Amman as the “water for electricity” deal, with the continued scenes of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which left thousands of martyrs and wounded, and extremely difficult humanitarian conditions.
In 2021, Jordan, the Emirates, and Israel signed a declaration of intent “to enter into a negotiating process, to discuss the feasibility of a joint project to trade energy for water.”
The project – called the Prosperity Project – aims to export 600 megawatts of solar energy to Israel, in exchange for 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water to Jordan.
