Israel agrees to give Jordan waters from al-Yarmouk instead of Tabaraya

The spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Amman, Roy Geilad, told the AFP on Tuesday that Israel had agreed to a request made by Amman to have its share of water come directly from al-Yarmouk river instead of storing this water share in Tabarayah lake and then transferring the waters to Jordan.

Geilad said: "Two weeks ago Jordan submitted a request in this regard to Israel, which agreed to fulfil it for one year, as an expression of its good intention towards Jordan." He added that steps to implement the Jordanian request have not been taken yet.

Receiving the water directly from al-Yarmouk river, Jordan will be able to shorten the time the process of storing waters will take in the Tabaraya lake, into which al-Yarmouk river pours.

The Jordanian - Israeli peace treaty signed in 1994 gives Jordan the right to obtain from Israel some 50 million cubic meters of water annually.