Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan sign the Washington Agreement on the White House Lawn as U.S. President Bill Clinton watches. Image by National Photo Collection of Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Jordan’s King Abdullah told Israel he has decided to not renew parts of their 1994 peace treaty.

Abdullah said Sunday he would not renew two of the treaty’s annexes, that allowed Israel to lease two border areas from the Jordanians. Israel’s 25-year lease on the areas – Baqura and Ghamr – is up next year.

“Baqoura and Ghumar have always been our top priority & our decision is to terminate the Baqoura and Ghumar annexes from the peace treaty out of our keenness to take all decisions that would serve Jordan and Jordanians,” Abdullah tweeted.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The deadline for renewing the annexes is later this week.

Baqura, or Naharayim in Hebrew, is located south of the Sea of Galilee in Israel’s north, and Ghumar, or Zofar in Hebrew, is located south of the Dead Sea, in Israel’s south. Both are located on the border of Jordan and Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel intends to negotiate with Jordan over extending the lease.

On Friday, protesters in Amman called on the king to cancel the lease and reclaim sovereignty over the territories; others called on Jordan to cancel the entire peace treaty with Israel.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 22.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount