Israel commends strategic importance of relations with Jordan

In a statement issued by the Israeli embassy in Amman, Israel commended "the strategic importance" of relations linking it with Jordan considering that the Hashemite Kingdom constitutes "an important cornerstone for reaching peace" between Israel and its neighbor in the region.

In a statement, marking the 9th anniversary of signing the peace agreement between Israel and Jordan, the Israeli embassy said that "Israel sees a strategic importance for relations with Jordan." The statement added "Israel sees that Jordan is an important cornerstone in the framework of attempts to reaching peace with all its neighbors in the Middle East," noting that "dialogue is continuous between the two countries in the political field."

The statement concentrated on the "indicators for the progress of the relations (between the two countries) in the fields of economy and cooperation," stressing that Israel is "working for the promotion of these relations in all possible fields." According to the statement, the volume of trade exchange, according to the Israeli figures in the first 8th months of 2003, reached 81.6 million dollars in comparison with 76 million in the same period of that year, representing an increase of 6%." The statement indicated "the continuously increasing trade exchange since the signing of the peace agreement" adding that the volume of this exchange increased from 41 million in 1999 to 76 million in 2000 and then to 117 in 2002.

On the other hand, an Israeli court yesterday sentenced to life imprisonment for 16 times the Jordanian girl Ahlam al-Tameimi ( 23 year old) under the charge of assisting in a suicide explosion that took place in Jerusalem two years ago and resulted in killing 15 persons.