In the peace treaty signed Wednesday by Israel and Jordan, the two sides pledged to achieve and guard a peace based on liberty, equality, justice, honor and basic rights.
What follows are key points of the agreement between the two countries, based on reports in the Israeli media:
Border demarcation: Israel will return more than 120 square miles of previously disputed land to Jordan. The two countries agreed to overall boundary definitions created in 1921 during the period of the British Mandate.
They also agreed that Israeli farmers would not be forced off lands currently being cultivated. Jordan accepted some 12 square miles of land in the Arava in exchange for these lands.
Other areas will come under Jordanian sovereignty, but will be immediately leased back to Israel for a period of 25 years, with an option to renew. These areas include 500 acres farmed by Kibbutz Tzofar in the Arava and 200 acres near the Yarmuk River at Naharayim in the north. Israeli police will be allowed to enter these areas with weapons for self-defense.
Water: Israel agreed to provide Jordan annually with 1.4 billion cubic feet of water from the Yarmuk River. Israel will provide an additional 350 million cubic feet of water to Jordan from desalination of brackish water sources near the Sea of Galilee.
In addition, the two countries will construct two dams on the Yarmuk and Jordan rivers. The two sides will seek international financing for these projects, which could yield an additional 3.5 billion cubic feet of water annually.
Security: Neither side will join alliances that could threaten the security of the other. They also agreed not to allow other nations to deploy within their borders to threaten or attack the other country.
The two countries also agreed to take all necessary and effective measures to counter terrorism.
Refugees: Israel agreed to consult with Jordan before it negotiates the fate of refugees from the 1948 War of Independence, an issue Israel is scheduled to discuss in the final-status talks with the Palestinians. Those talks are scheduled to begin by May 1996.
Normalization: Israel and Jordan will establish full diplomatic and consular relations. They will appoint ambassadors to the other country within one month after the treaty is ratified by their respective parliaments. The normalization of ties will also include economic and cultural links.
Jerusalem: In keeping with the Washington Declaration signed by Israel and Jordan in July, Israel will honor the Hashemite Kingdom’s historic role as guardian over Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem. Israel will give Jordan stewardship over these sites high priority during the permanent-status talks with the Palestinians.
Travel: Each side will grant citizens of the other country free movement on its roads and will not place any limitations on free travel between the two countries.
(JTA correspondent Naomi Segal in Jerusalem compiled this report.)
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
