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Israel has not yet asked for talks over Baqoura, Ghumar — FM

By JT - Oct 23,2018 - Last updated at Oct 23,2018

Ayman Safadi

AMMAN — Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi said that Jordan would hold consultations on Baqoura and Ghumar lands with Israel in the event that it officially submits a request to do so. 

Safadi added, in an interview with Jordan TV on Monday evening, that Jordan had not received any official request from Israel regarding the consultation.

His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday announced that Jordan took a decision to terminate the annexes of Baqoura and Ghumar in the 1994 Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, which put the two areas under a specific regime allowing Israeli farmers to use the lands for 25 years, renewable automatically if neither party declares its wish to terminate the deal. 

Later on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would negotiate with Jordan an extension of a “lease” of border land. Netanyahu, in public remarks, said Jordan wants to implement its option to end the lease, and Israel “will enter negotiations with it on the possibility of extending the current arrangement”, according to Reuters.

Safadi stressed that the consultations will be on how to terminate the two annexes, pointing out that the agreement with Israel on those territories at the signing of the peace treaty did not touch Jordan's sovereignty over Baqoura and Ghumar, but it rather was about the mechanism of Israeli workers' entry into those territories.

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