Grace period ends for Israelis to farm Ghumar lands

AMMAN — Thursday marked the end of the grace period granted by Jordan to Israeli farmers to cultivate their crops in the Ghumar area before the end of the lease annexes of the peace treaty that allowed Israelis to farm in the area under special regulations, the Foreign Ministry said.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Daifallah Fayez said that the government had allowed Israeli farmers to enter the Ghumar area for an extra period to cultivate their produce according to Jordanian law and after receiving visas.

Israeli entry to Ghumar during the extension period was not subject to the special regulations of the lease thatexpired on November 10, 2019, Fayez stressed.

In October of 2018, His Majesty King Abdullah announced the Kingdom's decision, the timing of which was specified in the 1994 Wadi Araba Peace Treaty with Israel, to terminate the annexes of the Baqoura and Ghumar areas in the treaty at the end of their legal term.

The agreement had placed thousands of dunums in Baqoura, in the northwestern corner of the Kingdom, and Ghumar, south of the Dead Sea, at the disposal of Israeli farmers, but the Kingdom decided to terminate the annexes and return the lands to Jordanian sovereignty.