A peace treaty between Jordan and Israel was signed on Oct. 26 by King Hussein ibn Talal, King of Jordan and Itzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, at an undisputed point of the border between the two countries in Wadi al-Araba, some 13 km north of Aqaba and Eilat.
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Jordan was the third Arab party to reach a peace agreement with Israel, after the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty and the 1993 signing of the Declaration of Principles (DOP) between Israel and the PLO. The treaty was signed in the presence of thousands of guests, including US President Bill Clinton, during his first official visit to the Middle East.
Jordan had been a party to the four-track Middle East peace talks with Israel which had begun in Madrid in November 1991. On Sept. 14, 1993 (the day after Israel and the PLO signed the DOP), Jordan and Israel had signed a formal "common agenda" for future bilateral negotiations. In June 1994 the two sides signed a series of more detailed "common sub-agendas", and the following month a joint declaration was signed formally in Washington ending their state of conflict. High-level bilateral negotiations continued in August and September.
On Oct. 3 Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan ibn Talal and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signed in Washington an agreement covering a package of economic and commercial joint venture projects. Many of the plans had been outlined in the July joint declaration, but were now laid down in more detail. On Oct. 17, Jordanian Prime Minister Abdel-Salam al-Majali and his Israeli counterpart Rabin finally initialled a draft agreement in Amman.
The main points of the treaty were as follows.
Establishment of peace: Article 1 of the treaty stated: "Peace is hereby established between the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan and the state of Israel."
International boundary: The two sides agreed to accept the British Mandatory map line, with minor changes, as the international boundary. Israel ceded to Jordan sovereignty over a small amount of territory which it had unilaterally occupied after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. However, much of this land would be leased back to Israeli farmers and settlers under a 25-year lease agreement. In addition, Jordan received a token amount of Israeli land. The demarcation of the boundary was to be concluded not later than nine months after the signing of the treaty.
Security: The treaty banned military alliances with third parties and called for co-operation against security threats of any kind. The parties committed themselves to creating a Conference on security and Co-operation in the Middle East and to working to make the region free from weapons of mass destruction. The parties also agreed to act against terrorism and cross-border infiltrations.
Diplomatic relations: Full diplomatic relations would be established and resident ambassadors exchanged within one month of the exchange of instruments of ratification of the treaty.
Water: The parties agreed to recognize each other's rightful allocations of the Jordan and Yarmouk and of the Araba groundwater. Jordan would initially receive an extra 50,000,000 cubic metres of water a year from Israel, a figure which could rise to a further 100 million cubic metres upon the completion of a series of dam projects on the Yarmouk and Jordan rivers.
Economic relations: The parties agreed to remove all discriminatory barriers and to terminate economic boycotts. Talks on economic co-operation, and specifically on the establishment of a free trade area, would be concluded within six months of ratification.
Refugees and displaced persons: The issues would be resolved through three committees: a quadripartite committee with Egypt and the Palestinians: the multilateral group on refugees; and "a framework working in conjunction with the permanent status negotiations".
Places of historical and religious significance: In accordance with the Washington declaration, Israel would respect the present special role of Jordan in Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem. When negotiations on permanent status took place, Israel would give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.
Mutual understanding: The parties agreed to abstain from propaganda against each other and to repeal within three months all adverse or discriminatory references and expressions of hostility in their respective legislation.
Navigation and ports: Each party recognized the right of vessels of the other party to pass through its territorial water. The Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba would be considered to be international waters open to all nations.
Rift Valley: Both parties would work for the creation of a Jordan Rift Valley development master plan.
Negotiations would be concluded within three to nine months of ratification on cultural and scientific exchanges; crime and drugs; transport; civil aviation; tourism; environment; posts and telecommunications; health; energy; agriculture; and the joint development of Aqaba and Eilat.
This article comes from Keesings Worldwide Online
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