AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan said on Sunday it would not extend the 25-year deal that allows Israel to use two tracts of territory along its border just as Israel said it was still planning to negotiate an extension.

Much of the land in Baquora in the northwestern part of the kingdom and Ghumar in the south is used by Israeli farmers, some of whom were given private land ownership rights and special travel rights under a 1994 peace treaty between the two countries.

The agreement will expire next year.

King Abdullah has been under increasing public pressure to end the arrangements with Israel. He told senior Jordanian politicians the kingdom wanted to exercise its “full sovereignty” over the two areas, Petra state news agency said.

“These are Jordanian lands and they will remain..” the monarch said. In an “era of regional turmoil” his kingdom -sandwiched between Syria to the north, Iraq to the east and Israel to its west - Jordan wanted to protect its “national interests,” Abdullah said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking after Abdullah’s comments on Sunday, acknowledged that Jordan wanted to exercise its option to end the arrangement.

But he said Israel “will enter negotiations with it on the possibility of extending the current arrangement”.

Under the terms of peace treaty, the lease would be automatically renewed unless either of the parties notified the other a year before expiry that it wished to terminate the agreement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Negotiations over ending the “special regime” of the two areas would be tough with Jordan facing thorny legal issues to reclaim the land where Israeli laws now apply, officials said.

Jordan is one of only two Arab states that has a peace treaty with Israel and the two countries have a long history of close security ties.

They have also been expanding economic ties in the last year including a major deal to export billions of dollars of Israeli gas to the kingdom through a pipeline that crosses their northern borders.

But the peace treaty with Israel is unpopular and pro-Palestinian sentiment widespread in Jordan. Activists and politicians have been vocal against a renewal they say was humiliating and perpetuates Israeli “occupation” of Jordanian territory.

Political ties have also become strained over the Middle East peace process. An incident last year in which an Israeli security guard killed two Jordanian citizens within the Israeli embassy compound added to the tension.

Under an annex to the peace agreement, Israel uses about 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of agricultural land in the southern sector of its border with Jordan in the Wadi Araba desert where cash crops are exported to European and U.S. markets.

In the Baquora area, known in Hebrew as Naharayim, Israeli citizens “ownership rights” date back to 1920’s, when Russian Jewish engineer, Pinhas Rutenberg, obtained a concession in British mandated Palestine to build a power plant.

In the 1994 peace treaty, Jordanian sovereignty over the area was confirmed but Israelis retained private land ownership and special provisions that allow free Israeli travel.</s>Jordan has told Israel that it intends to reclaim two tracts of territories leased under a 1994 peace treaty, King Abdullah II has announced, in a move that was welcomed by activists and civil society groups opposing the deal.

As part of the agreement, Israel leased about 405 hectares of agricultural land in the southern sector of its border with Jordan called al-Ghumar, as well as the small al-Baqura area near the confluence of Jordan and Yarmouk rivers.

The territories - water-rich farmlands currently cultivated by Israeli farmers - were leased for 25 years, with a 12-month notice period needed to prevent an automatic extension. The deadline for renewing the leases is Thursday, October 25.

"We have informed Israel of an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding al-Baqura and al-Ghumar," the king said on Sunday, according to Petra state news agency.

"Al-Baqura and al-Ghumar have always been on top of my priorities. Our decision is to end the annexes of the peace treaty based on our keenness to take all that is necessary for Jordan and Jordanians," the king added.

"Al-Baqura and al-Ghumar are Jordanian land and will remain Jordanian."

Following the king's announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would negotiate with Jordan an extension of the leases, which expire next year.

"We will enter into negotiations with [Jordan] to option an extension of the existing lease agreement," Israeli media quoted him as saying.

It is unclear how and when the territories will be returned back to Jordan's ownership. The territories have been under Israeli control since 1948.

Jordan is only one of two Arab countries that signed a peace treaty with Israel - the other being Egypt.

Observers said the king's announcement is expected to be positively received by the Jordanian public amid increasing efforts by activists and civil society groups aimed at forcing the government to end the leasing of Jordanian territories to Israel.

It also comes a week after 85 Jordanian members of parliament signed a petition urging the king to intervene so that the lease agreement would not be renewed, according to MP Khalil Atiyeh.

"For over a year, we have been demanding the scrapping of this agreement that was not in the interest of Jordan or the Jordanian people," Atiyeh told Al Jazeera.

Oraib al-Rantawi, a political analyst in Jordan's capital, Amman, said "the king saw the popular rejection against keeping this agreement with Israel, especially in the last few months where economic decline in the country has led to mass protests - and he wisely decided against it".

Thousands of angry Jordanians took to the streets in June to protest against price hikes, an income tax reform bill and official corruption, in a country where national poverty and unemployment rate stand at around 20 percent.

Political activist Hussam Abdallat praised the king's decision as one that would "endear him to the public".

Sufyan al-Tell, a former United Nations environmental official and outspoken critic of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, told Al Jazeera the king's announcement is "timely and reflects the will of the people of Jordan".

Public sentiment in Jordan against Israel is strong because of its continued occupation of Palestinian territories and its treatment of Palestinians.</s>Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he had been informed of Jordan’s request

King Abdullah II announced Sunday that Jordan has notified Israel it wants to reclaim two small plots of territory leased under their 1994 peace deal.

“We have informed Israel (that we are putting) an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar,” said the king, quoted by official news agency Petra.

But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to open negotiations to keep the current arrangement in place.

The land was leased to Israel for a 25-year renewable period under annexes of the 1994 peace treaty that lay down a one-year notice period, with Jordan retaining sovereignty.

“Israel was informed today of the Jordanian decision,” the monarch said, stressing that “Baqura and Ghumar are Jordanian land and will remain Jordanian”.

“Baqura and Ghumar have always been at the top of our priorities, and we have decided to put an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar,” he added.

Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he had been informed of Jordan’s request.

“As part of the agreement between our two countries, Jordan kept the right to take back the two areas at the end of the 25-year period,” the premier said.

“We will open negotiations on the possibility of prolonging the existing agreement,” he added, as Israel marked the anniversary on the Jewish calendar of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination.</s>Jordan wants Israel to return lands leased under 1994 peace deal

AMMAN: King Abdullah II announced Sunday that Jordan has notified Israel it wants to reclaim two small plots of territory leased under their 1994 peace deal.

“We have informed Israel (that we are putting) an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar,” said the king, quoted by official news agency Petra. But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to open negotiations to keep the current arrangement in place. The land was leased to Israel for a 25-year renewable period under annexes of the 1994 peace treaty that lay down a one-year notice period, with Jordan retaining sovereignty.“Israel was informed today of the Jordanian decision,” the monarch said, stressing that “Baqura and Ghumar are Jordanian land and will remain Jordanian”.“Baqura and Ghumar have always been at the top of our priorities, and we have decided to put an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar,” he added. Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he had been informed of Jordan’s request.“As part of the agreement between our two countries, Jordan kept the right to take back the two areas at the end of the 25 year period,” the premier said.

“We will open negotiations on the possibility of prolonging the existing agreement,” he added, as Israel marked the anniversary on the Jewish calendar of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination. Rabin signed the peace agreement with Jordan and was killed by a right-wing Jewish extremist in 1995.

“There is no doubt that from an overall point of view, this agreement constitutes an important and valuable asset for our two countries,” Netanyahu said.The agreement on Baqura and Ghumar is automatically renewable unless either side gives a year’s notice to terminate the deal, “in which case, at the request of either party, consultations shall be entered into”.Baqura is a border area of six square kilometres (2.4 sq miles) in Jordan’s northern Irbid province, while Ghumar covers four square kilometres in the southern Aqaba province.</s>In line with the 1994 peace agreement, which stipulated a one-year notice period, Jordan granted Israel private ownership rights in two border territories. However, the Jordan King noted that he wants to reclaim the land, citing national interests.Jordan's King Abdullah II announced on Sunday that Jordan has chosen to nix two annexes of the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, ending the Israeli lease of Baqura/Naharayim and Al-Ghamr/Zofar territories."Baqura and Ghamr are Jordanian territory and will remain Jordanian, and we exercise full sovereignty over our land," the King said, as quoted by the state-owned Jordan News Agency (Petra)."Our priorities in such difficult regional circumstances are protecting our interests and doing everything necessary for Jordan and the Jordanians," Abdullah II noted, adding that Israel had been made aware of the decision.In response to the move, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged, as cited by Haaretz , to try and talk Jordan into extending the lease. "There is no doubt the agreement is an important asset," he said, praising the peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt as "anchors of regional stability."Both areas in question are located on the Israel-Jordan border; Israeli farmers were granted private land ownership rights and property interests for a 25-year period under the 1994 peace accord, which settled long-standing land and water disputes between the two countries.After the 1994 agreement, Jordan became the second Arab country (after Egypt) to establish diplomatic relations with Israel. The deal helped Amman to pave the way for US economic and military assistance to the country. However, Israel-Jordan relations have been strained in recent years, particularly due to Amman's stance on the issue of Jerusalem. Earlier this year, Jordanian King Abdullah II confirmed that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian state, while Israel views Jerusalem as its official capital.</s>Jordan told Israel on Sunday it would not renew a 25-year lease of two tracts of territory along its border, where Israel had certain rights under a 1994 peace treaty, but Israel said it would negotiate with Jordan to extend the lease.

Under the treaty, Israel retained private land ownership and special travel rights in Baquora in the northwestern part of the kingdom and Ghumar in the south.

King Abdullah, who has been under increasing public pressure to end the leasing arrangements with Israel, told senior politicians the kingdom wanted to exercise its "full sovereignty" over the two areas, Petra state news agency said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday his country will negotiate with Jordan an extension of the 25-year lease.

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".

Under an annex to the peace agreement, Israel leased about 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of agricultural land in the southern sector of its border with Jordan, as well as a small area known as the "Island of Peace" near the Sea of Galilee.

Under the terms of peace treaty, the lease would be automatically renewed unless either of the parties notified the other a year before expiry that it wished to terminate the agreement, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.</s>King Abdullah II announced Sunday that Jordan has notified Israel it wants to reclaim two small plots of territory leased under their 1994 peace deal.

"We have informed Israel (that we are putting) an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar," said the king, quoted by official news agency Petra.

But Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to open negotiations to keep the current arrangement in place.

The land was leased to Israel for a 25-year renewable period under annexes of the 1994 peace treaty that lay down a one-year notice period, with Jordan retaining sovereignty.

"Israel was informed today of the Jordanian decision," the monarch said, stressing that "Baqura and Ghumar are Jordanian land and will remain Jordanian".

"Baqura and Ghumar have always been at the top of our priorities, and we have decided to put an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding Baqura and Ghumar," he added.

Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he had been informed of Jordan's request.

"As part of the agreement between our two countries, Jordan kept the right to take back the two areas at the end of the 25-year period," the premier said.

"We will open negotiations on the possibility of prolonging the existing agreement," he added, as Israel marked the anniversary on the Jewish calendar of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.

Rabin signed the peace agreement with Jordan and was killed by a right-wing Jewish extremist in 1995.

"There is no doubt that from an overall point of view, this agreement constitutes an important and valuable asset for our two countries," Netanyahu said.

The agreement on Baqura and Ghumar is automatically renewable unless either side gives a year's notice to terminate the deal, "in which case, at the request of either party, consultations shall be entered into".

On Friday and Saturday hundreds of Jordanians took to the streets in the kingdom's capital Amman calling on authorities to reclaim the two territories.

Ghumar, which covers four square kilometres in the southern Aqaba province, was taken by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War.

Baqura, a border area of six square kilometres (2.4 square miles) in Jordan's northern Irbid province, was taken by Israeli forces in 1950.

During the peace negotiations, Amman allowed Israel to keep temporary control of Ghumar and Baqura -- under the pretext that Israel had already built infrastructure and agricultural facilities in the areas -- as long as it recognised they were sovereign Jordanian territory.

Lawmaker Saleh al-Armouti told AFP that deputies "had even called for an urgent meeting of parliament to discuss the issue".

He welcomed the king's decision, hailing it as "a positive step that restores dignity to the Jordanian citizen and sovereignty over his land."

Director of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies Oraib Rantawi said Jordan's request would be a "test of Israeli intentions".

Political analyst Adel Mahmoud said Jordan could face "pressure" from the United States, a key backer of both parties, to push for new negotiations if the Israeli response was negative but that "the king's decision has full popular support".</s>After immense pressure from activists and civil society groups, Jordan said that it would be reclaiming al-Ghumar and al-Baqura after ending its lease agreement with Israel.

According to the 1994 peace agreement, Israel was leased 405 hectares of land so that Israeli farmers could use the water-rich farmland for at least 25 years.

The King said: “We have informed Israel of an end to the application of the peace treaty annexes regarding al-Baqura and al-Ghumar.

"Al-Baqura and al-Ghumar have always been on top of my priorities.</s>Jordan has announced its intention to reclaim full sovereignty over farmland leased to Israel as part of the 1994 peace treaty. Calling such a change "unacceptable" after so many years, Israel has vowed to renegotiate the deal."We are practicing our full sovereignty on our land," King Abdullah II said Sunday, announcing the Kingdom's intention to opt out of parts of the peace treaty which permitted Israelis to use 405 hectares of their farmland. In an "era of regional turmoil," the King stressed, "our priority in these regional circumstances is to protect our interests and do whatever is required for Jordan and the Jordanians."Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty in 1994, part of which included handing over lands to Tel Aviv for 25 years which Amman can claim back if it cancels the existing arrangement. The territories in question are known in Arabic as al-Baqura and al-Ghamr, and Naharayim and Zofar in Hebrew.The agreement is automatically renewableThe deadline for renewing the leases within the one year's notice is set for this Thursday, October 25.The head of Central Arava Regional Council expressed grave concern over the idea that farmland which they have got so used to will have to be returned to its owner. "The agricultural lands in the Tzofar enclave are significant to the security of the area, the state, the livelihood of the residents and agriculture in the central Arava," Eyal Bloom noted , pointing out that if the land is reclaimed by its owner, 30 Israeli farms in the area would cease to exist."It is unacceptable that after so many years, there would be such a huge disruptive change," Bloom emphasized.The King's announcement was prompted by mass public pressure and demands for the monarchy to reclaim their pastures. Taking to the streets Friday, Jordanian activists shouted in unison "The people want national honor" and "The story is about national sovereignty."In the meantime, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has cautiously expressed hope that Jordanians will change their mind. He stressed that he will work with Jordan in an effort to try to renegotiate the land agreement."We will go into negotiations with them on the option of extending the existing agreement," Netanyahu said. Since Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab countries in the world that have a peace treaty with Israel, Netanyahu stressed that the Israeli-Jordanian treaty serves one of the "main anchors of regional stability."</s>JERUSALEM, Israel – Under pressure from members of parliament and citizens, Jordanian King Abdullah II announced Sunday that his kingdom would not renew the leases of two land areas included in the 1994 peace treaty with Israel, Naharayim near the Jordan River and the Tzofar enclave in the Arava desert.

Sunday's announcement took some Israelis, who believe the leases would be renewed in perpetuity, by surprise. The Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty specifies that the leases can be renegotiated every 25 years, but require a year's advance notice before enacting any changes.

The total area amounts to less than four square miles along the Israeli-Jordanian border, on which Israeli farmers have produced a variety of produce.

Following the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed confidence the leases would be renewed.

"Jordan has reserved the option to reclaim the area in Naharayim near the Jordan River and the Tzofar enclave in the Arava [desert]," Netanyahu responded. "We were told today that it seeks to exercise this option in the 25th year. We will go into negotiations with them on the option of extending the existing agreement," adding that the peace treaty is a "valuable asset" to both countries.

It's not the first time the Jordanian population has pressured the king. About a year after the "Arab Spring" began, in 2011, radical elements in Jordan, many affiliated with Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, organized massive street protests calling on the king to step down.

Seemingly to preserve his rule, Abdullah gave into many of their demands, signing a series of constitutional amendments and enacting other reforms.

Now they're demanding an end to the leases.

Jerusalem Post political correspondent Herb Keinon called Jordan's announcement the "start of a process, not the end."

Keinon said the problem is not so much between Jerusalem and Amman, but rather with the Jordanian people themselves. These are the people Abdullah must appease. Netanyahu and Abdullah seem to have enjoyed a good working relationship over many years.

"In very general terms, it's fair to say that the 1994 peace agreement did not filter down to Jordanian masses," Keinon wrote. "The Jordanians might already be drinking Israeli water, are scheduled to be heating their homes with Israeli natural gas in 2020, and benefit in numerous ways from security cooperation with Israel, but, for the most part, they don't like Israel."

Further complicating the situation for Jordan are the 1.3 million Syrian refugees living in Jordan. In June, US President Donald Trump met with Abdullah at the White House to talk about Syria, the Iranian nuclear deal, the Israeli-Arab peace process. In their third meeting since taking office, the president praised Abdullah's humanitarian efforts with the refugees and called him a "friend."

Keinon says Abdullah's choice of words in Sunday's announcement were designed to appease the Islamists.

"Baqura and Ghamr are Jordanian territory and will remain Jordanian and we will exercise full sovereignty over the land," he announced. "Our priority in these regional circumstances is to protect our interests and do whatever is required for Jordan and the Jordanians."
King Abdullah II announces Jordan will reclaim two small plots of farmland territory leased to Israel under their 1994 peace treaty.