Israel complied with agreed-upon water quantities in peace treaty — Najjar

AMMAN — Israel has complied with the agreed-upon water quantities set in the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty as outlined in Annex 2 on water, which was published on the website of the Lower House in preparation for the oversight session on Tuesday, according to Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar.

The Lower House will hold a parliamentary oversight session on Tuesday, which includes 20 questions on its agenda. 

Najjar's statements were in response to three questions submitted by MP Ali Al Khalaileh on December 21, 2021, according to Al Mamlaka TV.

According to Najjar's responses in a letter dated January 9, 2022, "Jordan's annual share of water, as agreed upon in water Annex 2, and subsequently agreed upon between His Majesty King Hussein bin Talal and the Israeli Prime Minister at that time, is 35 million cubic metres, in addition to the quantities of water that are stored during the winter season in the Tiberias Lake and are pumped back during the summer."

Najjar added that "the Jordanian-Israeli Joint Water Committee is permanently monitoring the implementation of Annex 2, and there are no violations from the other side as stated in the annex".

Annex 2 contains all the details for implementing both countries' commitments under Article 6 of the treaty.

The first paragraph of Article 6 of the 1994 treaty states that "with the aim of achieving a comprehensive and lasting settlement of all the water problems between the Parties:  Both Parties shall mutually recognise fair and equitable allocations to each Party of their respective shares of the waters of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers and of Wadi Araba's groundwater, based on the agreed principles and according to the quantities and quality specified in Annex 2, which shall be respected and implemented fully."