Jordan Annuls 2 Peace Treaty Annexes with Israel

King Abdullah II holds meeting with political figures at Al Husseiniya Palace Sunday/Petra news agency
King Abdullah II holds meeting with political figures at Al Husseiniya Palace Sunday/Petra news agency
TT

Jordan Annuls 2 Peace Treaty Annexes with Israel

King Abdullah II holds meeting with political figures at Al Husseiniya Palace Sunday/Petra news agency
King Abdullah II holds meeting with political figures at Al Husseiniya Palace Sunday/Petra news agency

Jordan’s King Abdullah II decided on Sunday to terminate the 1994 Peace Treaty annexes on Baqura and Al Ghamr, which had allowed Israel to use the two territories.

“Baqura and Ghamr areas have always been our top priority, and our decision is to end Article 2 of Annexs I (b) of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty, emanating from our keenness to take whatever is necessary for Jordan and the Jordanians,” the King wrote on his Twitter account.

Accordingly, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry handed over to the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Sunday two memos informing the government of the Kingdom's decision to cancel annexes of Baqura and Ghamr areas from the peace treaty.

Later, during a meeting with political figures at Al Husseiniya Palace, King Abdullah said Israel was informed of Jordan’s decision, Petra news agency reported.

“We informed Israel of terminating Article 2 of Annex I (b) of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty on Baqura and Ghamr areas,” the King said.

He said Baqura and Al Ghamr are Jordanian territories. “They will remain as such, and we exercise full sovereignty over our territories," King Abdullah was quoted as saying.

The King noted that the issue, which has been widely debated, has been a top priority for a long time.

"Our priorities amidst current difficult regional conditions are to protect our interests and exert all possible efforts in the interest of Jordan and Jordanians," he affirmed.

The meeting’s attendees commended the key decision to terminate the Peace Treaty annexes, describing it as a national measure that serves higher Jordanian interests.

The political figures spoke about a number of domestic issues, including economic conditions, political reform, and the rule of law, stressing the importance of the King’s discussion papers in this regard.



Lebanese Begin Grim Task of Recovering Bodies from Rubble

 Rescuers use an excavator as they search for dead bodies through the rubble of a destroyed house, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ainata village, south Lebanon. (AP)
Rescuers use an excavator as they search for dead bodies through the rubble of a destroyed house, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ainata village, south Lebanon. (AP)
TT

Lebanese Begin Grim Task of Recovering Bodies from Rubble

 Rescuers use an excavator as they search for dead bodies through the rubble of a destroyed house, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ainata village, south Lebanon. (AP)
Rescuers use an excavator as they search for dead bodies through the rubble of a destroyed house, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah that went into effect on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, in Ainata village, south Lebanon. (AP)

In the southern Lebanon border villages of Bint Jbeil and Ainata, where fierce fighting between Israel and Hezbollah fighters took place, rescuers used excavators began searching on Wednesday for bodies under the rubble.

A woman in Ainata wrapped in black cried as she held a portrait her grandson, a Hezbollah fighter, who was killed in the fighting, as she waits for rescuers to recover his body from a destroyed home.

The smell of death filled the air and several dead bodies could be seen inside houses and between trees. In the town of Kfar Hammam, rescuers recovered four bodies, according to Lebanese state media.

Meanwhile, families and politicians visited the graves of Hezbollah fighters buried in eastern Lebanon's Baalbek region.

Families with tears in their eyes paid respects to the dead and celebratory gunshots could be heard in the background Wednesday, the first day of a ceasefire between the group and Israel.

“The resistance (Hezbollah) will stay to defend Lebanon,” Hezbollah lawmaker Ali Mokdad told reporters while visiting the graves. “We tell the enemy that the martyrs thwarted their plans for the Middle East.”

Several other Hezbollah members of parliament were present.