عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Netanyahu Bows to US Pressure, Agrees to Pump Water into Jordan

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border shows Jordanian soldiers praying in front of a national flag during a ceremony at the Jordan Valley site of Naharayim, also known as Baqura, east of the Jordan River on November 11, 2019. (AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border shows Jordanian soldiers praying in front of a national flag during a ceremony at the Jordan Valley site of Naharayim, also known as Baqura, east of the Jordan River on November 11, 2019. (AFP)
TT
TT

Netanyahu Bows to US Pressure, Agrees to Pump Water into Jordan

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border shows Jordanian soldiers praying in front of a national flag during a ceremony at the Jordan Valley site of Naharayim, also known as Baqura, east of the Jordan River on November 11, 2019. (AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border shows Jordanian soldiers praying in front of a national flag during a ceremony at the Jordan Valley site of Naharayim, also known as Baqura, east of the Jordan River on November 11, 2019. (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yielded to US pressure and agreed to the Jordanian government’s request for additional supplies of water, after several weeks of stalling.

Political sources in Tel Aviv said that Netanyahu was keen to make this move before US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Israel. The US official visited the country on Sunday.

On Tuesday, Israeli Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz informed his Jordanian counterpart of Netanyahu’s decision to pump ten million cubic meters of water in the Jordan River, out of a total of 65 million cubic meters that it supplies annually.

The peace agreement between Jordan and Israel, signed in 1994, stipulates that Israel permanently supply Jordan with water pumped from the Sea of Galilee to the Jordan River via the King Abdullah Canal, with an amount of 55 million cubic meters per year.

Jordan’s water became scarce due to the Israeli water project that was implemented in the 1950s, according to which the water of the Yarmouk River was diverted to the desert Negev region in the Israeli south. However, Amman agreed to pay 10 US cents per cubic meter for the first 40 million cubic meters and 40 cents for every additional cubic meter.

With the influx of Iraqi and then Syrian refugees into Jordan, the country’s needs for water increased, reaching 55 million cubic meters. Then it demanded another 10 million cubic meters and agreed to pay the higher price to Israel.

But Netanyahu’s decision to delay the approval of the supply this year was not due to any water problem. On the contrary, Israel has seen this year great water abundance thanks to the expansion of a desalination project and a heavy rain season.

Political and security sources in Tel Aviv confirmed that the premier’s decision can be traced to the troubled Israeli-Jordanian relations, which the Haaretz daily described on March 26, as “a personal confrontation between Prime Minister Netanyahu and King Abdullah II.”

The newspaper said that Israeli officials, who have close ties with the Jordanian side, have expressed concern about Netanyahu’s position and the escalating tension between the two neighbors.

The same sources accused the prime minister of intentionally jeopardizing the peace agreements due to his personal enmity with the royal family in Jordan.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
TT
TT

Rescue Teams Search for Survivors in Building Collapse that Killed at Least 2 in Northern Lebanon

A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
A Lebanese flag is pictured, in the aftermath of a massive explosion, in Beirut's damaged port area, Lebanon August 17, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

At least two people were killed and four rescued from the rubble of a multistory apartment building that collapsed Sunday in the city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, state media reported.

Rescue teams were continuing to dig through the rubble. It was not immediately clear how many people were in the building when it fell.

The bodies pulled out were of a child and a woman, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Dozens of people crowded around the site of the crater left by the collapsed building, with some shooting in the air.

The building was in the neighborhood of Bab Tabbaneh, one of the poorest areas in Lebanon’s second largest city, where residents have long complained of government neglect and shoddy infrastructure. Building collapses are not uncommon in Tripoli due to poor building standards, according to The AP news.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry announced that those injured in the collapse would receive treatment at the state’s expense.

The national syndicate for property owners in a statement called the collapse the result of “blatant negligence and shortcomings of the Lebanese state toward the safety of citizens and their housing security,” and said it is “not an isolated incident.”

The syndicate called for the government to launch a comprehensive national survey of buildings at risk of collapse.

Arab World

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
TT
TT

Israel to Take More West Bank Powers and Relax Settler Land Buys

A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)
A view of Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the West Bank, Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP)

Israel's security cabinet approved a series of steps on Sunday that would make it easier for settlers in the occupied West Bank to buy land while granting Israeli authorities more enforcement powers over Palestinians, Israeli media reported.

The West Bank is among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a future independent state. Much of it is under Israeli military control, with limited Palestinian self-rule in some areas run by the Western-backed Palestinian Authority (PA).

Citing statements by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Defense Minister Israel Katz, Israeli news sites Ynet and Haaretz said the measures included scrapping decades-old regulations that prevent Jewish private citizens buying land in the West Bank, The AP news reported.

They were also reported to include allowing Israeli authorities to administer some religious sites, and expand supervision and enforcement in areas under PA administration in matters of environmental hazards, water offences and damage to archaeological sites.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the new measures were dangerous, illegal and tantamount to de-facto annexation.

The Israeli ministers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The new measures come three days before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet in Washington with US President Donald Trump.

Trump has ruled out Israeli annexation of the West Bank but his administration has not sought to curb Israel's accelerated settlement building, which the Palestinians say denies them a potential state by eating away at its territory.

Netanyahu, who is facing an election later this year, deems the establishment of any Palestinian state a security threat.

His ruling coalition includes many pro-settler members who want Israel to annex the West Bank, land captured in the 1967 Middle East war to which Israel cites biblical and historical ties.

The United Nations' highest court said in a non-binding advisory opinion in 2024 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be ended as soon as possible. Israel disputes this view.

Arab World

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
TT
TT

Arab League Condemns Attack on Aid Convoys in Sudan

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the attack by the Rapid Support Forces on humanitarian aid convoys and relief workers in North Kordofan State, Sudan.

In a statement reported by SPA, secretary-general's spokesperson Jamal Rushdi quoted Aboul Gheit as saying the attack constitutes a war crime under international humanitarian law, which prohibits the deliberate targeting of civilians and depriving them of their means of survival.

Aboul Gheit stressed the need to hold those responsible accountable, end impunity, and ensure the full protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and relief facilities in Sudan.