No obligation to provide: Israel accused of withholding water from Jordan

Israel has refused to renew its water agreement with Jordan in violation of the peace treaty between the two countries, Israel's public broadcaster, Kan 11 reported on Monday.

According to the report, Israel has not yet signed on the renewal of the extended water supply agreement with Jordan, with pressure building on the Hashemite Kingdom due to its dependency on Israeli water.

"The issue of water is very important to us, and it is also part of the peace agreement," a Jordanian official told Kan 11, indicating his country may respond to the Israeli delay.

Amman, the report said, is afraid that Israel is using the water supply agreement as a bargaining chip in its relations with the kingdom.

In March, Kan 11 reported that Jordan's King Abdullah II conditioned a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on solving issues relating to water supply and the Palestinians.

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The Israeli news site, Ynet also reported on the delay on Monday, claiming Israel is considering a proposal by the UAE to hold a trilateral summit in Abu Dhabi with the energy ministers of the UAE, Israel and Jordan.

According to Ynet, the suggested summit would address the water supply agreement as well as reviving the UAE-backed proposal for a joint Israeli-Jordanian desalinated water plant.

Abu Dhabi is trying to ease tensions between Jordan and its key ally Israel, which have increased after the Israel genocide in Gaza began in 2023.

"We continue supplying Jordan with the water required under the peace treaty," an Israeli official said,

The official added that Israel has "no obligation to provide additional quantities. If there is goodwill between the two countries, we can provide the extra water."

According to the Israeli official, "we wanted to fill our reservoirs for the benefit of our farmers," after what he described as the driest year in the last 100 years.

The Israeli official also told Ynet that "Jordan needs the water, but when you help your neighbours, you expect warmer relations," indicating that a possible summit in Abu Dhabi would deal with "normalisation, water and strengthening bilateral ties”.

Jordan dependency on Israeli water

Since the signing of the peace treaty between Jordan and Israel in 1994, water supply has become one of the most important issues between Israel and Jordan.

Water scarcity in the Hashemite Kingdom has increased over the years leading to Amman’s dependency on Israel's water supply.

In 1994, Israel agreed to provide Jordan with 50 million cubic meters of water annually as part of the agreement, with both countries committing to deal with water scarcity in the region by developing water sources, preventing pollution, and reducing water wastage.

In 2021, the Israeli government agreed to increase the supply of water to Jordan by an additional 50 million cubic meters of water, setting the water supply at 100 million cubic per year for a three-year period.

Since 2024, Netanyahu's government refused to extend the latest deal by more than six months, with Jordan requesting a five-year extension to the deal.

After he signed the latest extension of the deal in May 2024, Israel's Energy Minister Eli Cohen said that Israel "will continue to use our natural resources to strengthen Israel's standing in the region”.

In February, Jordanian outlet Al-Mamlaka TV reported that the kingdom had prepared measures aimed at securing the country's water supply regardless of political pressure or regional developments.

So far, Jordan is yet to publicly comment on the current water dispute with Israel.

Since the genocide in Gaza, relations between Jordan and Israel have significantly deteriorated, with Jordan formally recalling its ambassador to Israel, Ghassan Majali, in November 2023.

Last week, King Abdullah issued a royal decree officially ending Majali's mission in Israel and returning him to Amman with no replacement appointed.

While Israel is accused of using restriction of water supply to the Gaza Strip as a weapon of war, Kan 11 and Ynet reports indicate that Israel is also using water as part of its diplomatic efforts with a relatively friendly neighbour.

Jordan was part of the region-wide Arab effort to intercept Iranian missiles and drones targeting Israel during the 12-day war last year and the most recent conflict.

Global warming threat

As the effects of global warming expand worldwide, water supply is becoming a critical issue for countries around the world, and in the Middle East in particular.

A recent UN report said that "the planet has entered the Global Water Bankruptcy era,"  adding "nearly three-quarters of the world’s population lives in countries classified as water-insecure or critically water-insecure”.

According to Haaretz, Israel is a world leader in producing drinkable desalinated water, with 70 to 80 percent of the water supply to Israeli households coming from desalinated water plants across the country.

While Israel currently produces 804 million cubic meters of desalinated water per year, last month, the government approved a plan to raise Israel's drinkable water production capacity to 2 billion cubic meters per year by 2050.  

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