Amman plays down its political significance: new bridge between Jordan and Israel
Jordan-Israel, Politics, 3/10/2004

Ten years after signing the Wadi Araba agreement between Israel and Jordan, the foundation stone was laid yesterday for a joint technological educational center installed on the border between the two countries as " a bridge over the Jordan valley."

It is decided that this university center will be completed after five years, but the experience of the Jordanian- Israeli projects has a failed history. There are plenty of joint economic and tourism projects which have not completed yet despite the numerous talks about it. The new academic project is built on an area of 600 dunnums allotted equally between Israel and Jordan. The project is sponsored by two American universities Stanford and Cornell and enjoys official support from the two countries and from American businessmen. The project aims at ensuring job opportunities for Israeli and Arab students to study in one university in order to develop the idea of coexistence.

The laying stone celebration was attended by the Israeli minister of finance Benjamin Netanyahu, the Jordanian minister of planning Basem Awadallah and then the Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon received supervisors of the project and stressed to them that Israel who " have not lost a war in all its life is ready to give painful concessions for the sake of peace." Sharon sent a reconciliation message towards Jordan when he stressed his determination to provide the project a success and achieve peace.

But Awadallah who presided over his country's delegation said that the project is merely educational and should not be given a political dimension. he added "by the ultimate end we are connected with Israel by a peace agreement and we have natural and trade relations. We do not like what Israel does in the West Bank nor its building of the wall and we had conveyed this thoughts but this is only a scientific complex for research and has no political implications before it." Worthy mentioning that the foundation stone for this project was laid despite internal protests in Jordan, as Jordanian Parliamentarians and vocational trade unions criticized the project saying that it comes at a time when Israel is killing the Palestinian and demolish their houses and work for expelling them by building the separation wall.

Previous Stories:
  Jordan, Israel inaugurates an international center for research   (3/8/2004)
  Jordan seeks to abrogate an Israeli decision for expelling thousands of Palestinians   (2/23/2004)
  Yediot Ahronot: King Abdullah receives Peres   (2/11/2004)

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