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Thousands in Jordan protest water deal with Israel, ‘the enemy’

Mohammad Al-Najjar, Jordan’s water minister, said that the declaration of intent is “not connected with the peace agreement (with Israel) and is not obligatory on Jordan.”

By World Israel News Staff

Israel and Jordan have signed a mutually beneficial deal this week in which Israel will build a giant solar farm in the Jordanian desert in exchange for providing Jordan with more water.

The deal was signed in the UAE between the two countries’ energy ministers, said Eyal Hulata, Israeli national security adviser, in the presence of U.S. climate envoy John Kerry.

“The Abraham Accords are the enabler of such an important agreement to promote the national security of both of our countries,” Hulata said.

However, several Jordanian political and grassroots leaders have expressed strong opposition to the agreement.

Mohammad Al-Najjar, Jordan’s water minister, said that the declaration of intent is “not connected with the peace agreement (with Israel) and is not obligatory on Jordan,” The Media Line reported.

Jordanian lawmaker Yanal Freihat, the report continued, requested a copy of the agreement, asking, “Did the government study the effect of this agreement on the kingdom’s national security?”

Furthermore, Freihat objected to putting Jordan’s need for water” in the hands of the enemy, who is occupying ‘Palestine’ and continues to annex parts of the West Bank [Judea and Samaria], including the Jordan Valley?”

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Just one hour after the deal was announced, according to The Media Line, the Bani Hassan tribe, the largest in Jordan, protested against any normalization with Israel, burning tires and blocking roads in the country’s northeast.

The National Forum for the support of the resistance called for a major demonstration on Friday, starting in downtown Amman, with the theme: “A rejection of the shameful water-for-electricity agreement signed by the government with the Zionist enemy.”

Thousands gathered in the capital to join the protest.

The kingdom’s water deficit reached 40 million cubic meters in 2021, according to Bashar al-Bataineh, secretary-general of the Water Authority at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. Israel is a world leader in water technology.