The Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, officially announced the termination of the annexes for the areas of Baqoura and Ghamr with Israel, and affirmed the imposition of full Jordanian sovereignty on each inch.
In the details, the Jordanian monarch, King Abdullah II, officially announced yesterday, the completion of the annexes for the two regions of Baqoura and Ghamr with Israel.
In a speech at the opening of the Fourth Ordinary Session of the 18th National Assembly, King Abdullah said: "I declare today the end of work at the Baqoura and Ghamr attachments and impose our full sovereignty on the Baqoura and Ghamr areas and every inch therein."
The Jordanian authorities began yesterday to prevent the Israelis from entering the Jordanian lands in Baqoura and Ghamr (which the Israelis call Nahariyem), after the expiration of a contract allowing Israeli farmers to work in those lands 25 years after the signing of a peace agreement between the two countries.
According to the annexes of the peace agreement signed on October 26, 1994, Israel was given the right to dispose of these lands for 25 years, which would be renewed automatically if the Jordanian government did not inform the Jewish state of its desire to reclaim these lands a year before the expiration of the term, which the Kingdom did.
Last year, King Abdullah decided to reclaim the land of Baqoura, east of the junction of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers in Irbid governorate (north), and immersion in the Wadi Araba area of Aqaba governorate (south) from Israeli tutelage.
An AFP correspondent in northern Israel said the yellow gate leading to a bridge over the river separating the two countries, from which Israeli farmers enter Baqoura, was closed.
The Wadi Araba Treaty signed on 26 October 1994 formally ended decades of state of war between the two countries.
This treaty has not yet gained popular legitimacy in Jordan.
Internally, the King touched on the economic situation. "We have made bold reforms, even in the most difficult circumstances, and we have proved to the world time and again that Jordan, whatever the challenges, does not know the impossible," he said. He said: «Jordan is moving forward at a steady pace, has become the most difficult reforms behind us, and the future promising before us, we move towards him confidently to achieve the ambition of the people of this country».
He pointed out that «the government during the last month, an economic program will be implemented in stages, within four axes, aimed at reviewing wages and salaries, and stimulate the economy, and stimulate investment, and improve the quality of services provided to citizens, administrative reform and public finance».
King Abdullah: We have imposed our full sovereignty on the areas of Baqoura and Ghamr and every inch therein.