Detente between Jordan and Israel over water issue

Jordanian Water Minister Kamel Haddadin has announced a tangible detente on the water issue with Israel through contacts which have been made by the two sides. In a statement issued Tuesday by the Jordanian daily al-Rai, the Jordanian minister added that meetings are continuous with the Israelis in the joint committee for waters and that the Israelis asserted their commitment to the provisions mentioned in the Wadi Araba agreement.

The paper asserted that the Israeli government was trying, through its threats, to reduce Jordan's share of waters, to win the votes of Israeli peasants in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.