While the BSemite dream of isolating Israel from the world is falling apart, Israel's Muslim neighbors continue to strengthen their ties with Israel. As was the case with Egypt and Turkey, technology is the motivator for this agreement with Jordan as well.
The water-swapping agreement between Israel and Jordan involves the joint construction and overseeing of a desalination plant in Aqaba, Jordan, as well as a 200-kilometer pipeline linking the plant to the Dead Sea. The plant will desalinate 65- to
80-million cubic metes of sea water from the Red Sea. Israel will receive about 35 cubic meter of this output, to water the Negev, and in return will provide Jordan with water from Lake Kinneret, to water northern Jordan.
The total costs of these projects, $250 million, is expected to receive funding from the European Union and the World Bank. It will be managed by a joint Jordanian-Israeli directorate.
| Energy, and Water Minister Silvan Shalom (left) and his Jordanian counterpart, Water and Irrigation Minister Hazim el-Naser, display the agreement. Photo by the Jerusalem Post. |
The mutual benefits do not end here: the bi-product of desalination, a salty brine, will pour into the Dead Sea via the pipeline, which will revitalize this natural wonder and tourist attraction shared by both Israel and Jordan. Industrial evaporation of the Dead Sea in recent decades, in order to extract its famous minerals, has shrunken the lake to half of its size. This agreement will provide both Jordan and Israel with much-needed water in their driest regions and bring the Dead Sea back to its former beauty.
