Jordan is awaiting the return of the Baqoura and Ghamr areas to its sovereignty. Israel is expected to end its 25-year lease of its territory on Sunday under the annexes of a 1994 peace treaty.

There is a mood of anticipation for what Israel will do, amid reports of Israelis leaving the two areas before the border gates are closed late on Saturday evening.

Aidan Greenbaum, head of the Israeli local council for the Jordan Valley, told AFP that "Jordanian officials told him that as of midnight he would be denied entry to these lands." But he added that he had not received any guidance from an Israeli official on the latest developments.

"The change will affect two agricultural communities and their members who have been working in these lands for 70 years and feel that Israel has abandoned them," he said.

"It is very unfortunate that this is the way we leave the oasis of peace," he said of these Jordanian lands, which the Israelis call Nahraim.

In response to Agence France-Presse, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said, "The agreement will expire on November 10," without giving further details.

The Israeli channel No. 13 said that Israeli farmers in the two areas on Thursday received letters from the Israeli authorities that they will be denied entry to the two areas starting Sunday.

Today, the channel released a video that apparently shows Israelis leaving Baqoura.

"אי השלום" בצד הירדני נסגר סופית לכניסת ישראלים וחקלאים מעמק הירדן • צפו @ 10elilevi pic.twitter.com/BIjPqp1VzO

- חדשות 13 (@ newsisrael13) November 9, 2019

A planned visit to the bakoura
For its part, the Jordanian government announced in a statement that Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will hold a press conference next Monday in the region of Baqoura on the occasion of the completion of the annexes of the peace agreement with Israel on the two areas. The German news agency quoted sources as saying that the Jordanian government will organize a tour of the media in the region.

Jordan leased the areas under two annexes to the peace agreement with Israel. The two annexes in Article 6 provide for the lease of the two areas for 25 years from the date of entry into force of the peace treaty.

They also provide for automatic renewal of the lease for a similar period, unless either of the other parties is notified of the termination of the annexes one year before the renewal date.

Jordan's King Abdullah II decided last year to reclaim the land. On October 21, 2018, Jordan informed the Israeli government that the kingdom had decided not to renew the lease contract for Baqoura and Ghamr lands.

Baqoura is located east of the junction of the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers in Irbid governorate (north). Its total area is estimated at about six thousand dunams (dunum is equal to one thousand square meters).

The inundation is located in Wadi Araba area in Aqaba governorate (south).

Channel 13 went on to say that Jordan rejected the request to extend the lease for an additional six months after the end of the period. The Jordanian foreign minister informed National Security Adviser Meir Ben Shabat during a meeting in Amman a few days ago.

She also said Safadi had made it clear to the national security adviser that the agreement on those two areas had ended.