Israeli water exports to Jordan have dropped by half after an annual deal that provided extra supplies to the kingdom expired, reflecting the tension between the countries since the start of the Gaza war and recent unilateral Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank.
Under the agreement, signed in 2021, Israel provided the kingdom with 50 million cubic metres of water a year. The deal expired three months ago without being renewed, state-run Al Mamlaka TV quoted an official as saying late on Thursday.
It had doubled the annual water supply Israel provided to Jordan under the 1994 peace treaty, which commits the two sides to co-operate on security and counter-terrorism issues.
“The government has prepared an alternative plan to the agreement to buy additional water from Israel," the official said, without giving details. The plan was “drawn up last year, before the agreement expired, to guarantee the sustainability of Jordanian water security", he added. "The national interest will determine the options and priority of Jordan in this regard."
Jordan, an ally of the US that depends on American aid, scrapped plans for joint infrastructure and IT projects with Israel after the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023. The kingdom was also fiercely critical of an Israeli proposal last year to annex more of the West Bank. This month, the kingdom said Israel was “messing” with the West Bank after Israeli moves to enable Jewish settlements and land ownership in the area.
The kingdom, which uses about one billion cubic metres of water a year, has faced a crisis for decades. Its annual share of water per capita – about 100 cubic metres – is one of the smallest in the world. Rainfall, which averages about 100 millimetres a year, is also among the lowest in the world.
But the government hopes to finalise a deal this year with a French consortium to build a desalination plant near the port of Aqaba that can produce 300 million cubic metres of water a year.
