Jordan Valley, An Agricultural Plain With Key Resources

The Jewish settlement of Mechola in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank stands with Jordanian villages east of the Jordan River in the background. AFP
The Jewish settlement of Mechola in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank stands with Jordanian villages east of the Jordan River in the background. AFP
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Jordan Valley, An Agricultural Plain With Key Resources

The Jewish settlement of Mechola in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank stands with Jordanian villages east of the Jordan River in the background. AFP
The Jewish settlement of Mechola in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank stands with Jordanian villages east of the Jordan River in the background. AFP

The Jordan Valley makes up nearly a third of the occupied West Bank and is in Israel's sights to annex as it considers control of the plain, which sits between two desert mountain ranges, essential for its security.

If Israel presses ahead with annexation, the valley will mark the country's western border with Jordan, AFP reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in January described it as "vital" to Israel, vowing his government would "apply sovereignty" to the area.

For the Palestinians, such a step would destroy "all chances of peace".

The valley is home to some 65,000 Palestinians, including around 20,000 Jericho residents, according to Israeli anti-occupation organisation B'Tselem.

Israeli settlements are viewed as illegal under international law, but Washington broke with this consensus in November and said it should be up to Israeli courts to decide on their legality.

The majority of the Jordan Valley is already administered by Israel, as it forms part of the West Bank's "Area C" as outlined in the Oslo peace accords of the 1990s.

Area C covers around 60 percent of the West Bank, while Area B, which accounts for roughly 22 percent, is under Palestinian civil rule but Israeli security control.

The remaining Area A, which covers the eight major towns and cities including Jericho, is under full Palestinian control.

Lying south of Lake Tiberias and to the north of the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley is also strategic for its agricultural land and water resources in the arid region.

But 85 percent of the valley is inaccessible to Palestinians, according to B'Tselem, while 56 percent is designated for military use.

According to AFP, Israel frequently demolishes Palestinian property built in Area C without Israeli permits, which are extremely hard to obtain.

The Jordan Valley accounts for the highest number of such demolitions in the West Bank, with some 2,400 structures levelled since 2009, according to European Union figures.



Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
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Lebanese President Says Disarmament Decision Has Been Taken

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Maronite Patriarchate on Easter morning (Lebanese Presidency)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed on Sunday that the decision to confine all arms to the state has already been made, but he emphasized that its enforcement hinges on the “right conditions” to determine the timing and method.
Aoun’s statement came two days after Hezbollah Deputy Secretary-General Naim Qassem firmly rejected any possibility of disarmament. “We will not allow anyone to disarm Hezbollah or the resistance,” Qassem had said in a televised address.
He warned that Hezbollah has “other options,” though he stopped short of specifying them.
Qassem also claimed that Hezbollah has successfully thwarted Israel’s objectives in southern Lebanon, and revealed that “positive messages” had been exchanged with President Aoun regarding the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Aoun
Following an Easter Mass and a closed-door meeting with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, Aoun reiterated his stance on confining weapons to the state, emphasizing that the matter “should not be debated through media or social platforms, but rather approached with national responsibility and without provocation”.
He added that the nation’s best interest must always come first, reaffirming that his call, as mentioned in his inaugural address, for exclusive state control over arms was not mere words.
“When I spoke of the state’s exclusive right to arms in my oath of office, it wasn’t just words. I said it because I firmly believe that the Lebanese people do not want war and can no longer bear its consequences or even the language of war,” he said.
In addressing the challenges facing this matter and how to reconcile between external pressures on Lebanon and internal calls for a more gradual approach, Aoun said: “We must address the matter responsibly and with composure because it is a sensitive and fundamental matter for preserving civil peace”.
President Joseph Aoun reiterated his call for internal dialogue as the only viable path to resolve contentious national issues, including the question of Hezbollah’s arms. He warned against confrontation, which he said could lead Lebanon toward destruction.
Patriarch Al-Rahi
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, during his Easter Mass sermon, voiced strong support for Aoun’s position on state sovereignty and the monopoly of arms.
Rahi endorsed Aoun’s message that "only the state can protect us—a strong, sovereign, and just state, born from the will of the Lebanese people and committed to their well-being, peace, and prosperity."