Thousands of Jordanians rallied on Friday in protest against a deal signed with Israel that will reportedly see the two countries swap electricity for water, Anadolu News Agency reports.
The march began in front of the Husseini Mosque in the capital, Amman, and continued to the Al-Nakhil Square about a kilometer (0.6 miles) away, amid a heavy security presence, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported from the scene.
The demonstrations were organized by political parties and trade unions in Jordan to reject the Hashemite Kingdom’s decision to negotiate with Tel Aviv on the feasibility of a joint energy and water project.
الآن من المسيرة الجماهرية التي يشارك فيها أبناء الشعب الأردني من مختلف مناطق المملكة لإسقاط الاتفاقية المشؤومة مع العدو "اتفاقية المياه".
"احنا للأردن حرّاس!"#ماء_العدو_احتلال#التطبيع_خيانة#التجديد pic.twitter.com/AccBgWSUiZ— التجديد – الجامعة الأردنية (@tajdeed_ju) November 26, 2021
On Monday, Jordan announced the signing of a declaration of intent for exchanging water for energy with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.
The three countries will start talks to explore the feasibility of a joint energy and water project, according to Jordan’s Ministry of Water and Irrigation.
The Ministry said in a statement that the declaration of intent meant “entering the process of feasibility studies during the next year 2022, through which Jordan could obtain 200 million cubic meters of water annually.”
“Activists started an "open protest" in the Amman Interior Circle against the recent agreement signed between Jordan, Israel and the United Arab Emirates on the latest ways to increase cooperation in the fields of energy and electricity.” https://t.co/FZBNtHdxTo
— asad abukhalil أسعد أبو خليل (@asadabukhalil) November 24, 2021
Last month, Jordan signed an agreement with Israel to buy 50 million cubic meters of water from Tel Aviv — an additional amount to what was stipulated in the peace agreement signed between the two countries in 1994.
Jordan currently stands second in the list of the world’s water-poor countries, according to the global water index.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
