Bennett, Abdullah hold secret meetings
Lapid inks large water deal in Jordan
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett secretly met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II at his palace in Amman last week, as the two countries finalize a major water deal in advance of their separate trips to Washington later this summer.
The story of the meeting was reported widely Thursday by the Israeli media but was not confirmed by Bennett’s office.
Such meetings between former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and King Abdullah were rare and had not happened for a number years due to rising tensions between the two countries. Last week Bennett and Abdullah agreed that the two countries must heal that rift. As a step in that direction they spoke of a water deal.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday publicly visited Jordan to help finalize the water deal and a separate deal to increase trade levels.
“The Kingdom of Jordan is a neighbor and partner of the State of Israel. The Foreign Ministry will continue to hold an ongoing dialogue in order to preserve and strengthen that relationship,” Lapid said, according to a statement put out by his office.
“We will expand economic cooperation for the benefit of both countries,” he added.
Israel plans to sell 50 million cu.m. of water to Jordan,
in what could be a short-term annual allocation. Such a move would augment the 55 million cu.m. yearly allotment guaranteed to Jordan under the 1994 peace between the two countries.
Additional water offers have been rare. In 2010 Israel allowed Jordan to purchase 10 million cu.m. and in April, a 3 million cu.m. purchase was approved.
Bennett already gave his initial approval to the deal, which was cemented when Lapid met with his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, on Thursday.
“Final details will be worked out by the professional teams in the coming days,” the Foreign Ministry said.
The new Bennett-led government has sought to improve the relationship with its regional ally, viewed as essential to Israel’s
national security.
Over the last year Defense Minister Benny Gantz and former foreign minister Gabi Ashkenazi worked on damage control measures with their neighbor.
Israel’s gestures are expected to help Jordan combat its economic woes and drought which have threatened to destabilize the Hashemite Kingdom.
While in Jordan Lapid also agreed to increase Jordan’s export level to Palestinians in the West Bank from $160 million to $700m. annually.
Some $470m. of that sum “will be included under Palestinian trade regulations (List A1), with the rest handled in accordance with Israel’s trade regulations (List B),” the Foreign Ministry