JERUSALEM, Israel – Israel and Jordan on Thursday announced new agreements on water and trade following reports that Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett secretly met with Jordan’s king last week to improve ties between the two countries.
Under the deal, Jordan will purchase an additional 50 million cubic meters of water from Israel, the two countries announced in official statements. Jordan will also increase its exports to the West Bank – biblical Judea and Samaria – from $160 million a year to around $700 million.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid met at the King Hussein Bridge between Jordan and the West Bank on Thursday.
Lapid described Jordan as an “important neighbor and partner,” and said Israel would work to expand economic ties. Safadi called for renewed efforts to achieve a two-state solution with the Palestinians and for Israel to stop “illegal” measures that he believes are inhibiting the peace process, including the potential eviction of Palestinian families from homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem.
The announcement of the new agreements between Israel and Jordan came after news of Prime Minister Bennett’s secret meeting with King Abdullah II last week. The meeting was first reported by the Israeli Walla news site, and an anonymous official confirmed the visit with the Associated Press.
Walla described the meeting as positive and said the two leaders agreed to open a “new page” in relations.
Israel and Jordan made peace in 1994 and maintain close security ties, but relations have been strained over tensions in Jerusalem and a lack of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
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