King visits Baqura

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, visited Baqura on Monday.

King Abdullah was received by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti and a number of senior army officers, according to Royal Court statement.

His Majesty was briefed on the historical, geographic, and strategic importance of the area.

Also on Monday in a tweet, His Majesty said: “Jordan’s sovereignty over its lands is above all other considerations”. 

His Majesty on Sunday, during the opening of Parliament's fourth ordinary session, announced "Jordan's full sovereignty on every inch of Baqura and Al Ghamr areas" and the termination of the annexes on these areas in the peace treaty.

“Today, I also announce the expiration of the peace treaty annexes on Al Ghamr and Baqura and the imposition of our full sovereignty over every inch of those lands”, the King underscored.

In October 2018, His Majesty had announced the Kingdom's decision to terminate the annexes on the Baqura and Al Ghamr areas in the peace treaty with Israel by the end of their legal term in October  2019.

“Baqura and Al Ghamr have always been at the top of our priorities…our decision is to terminate the Baqura and Al Ghamr annexes from the [1994 Jordan-Israel] peace treaty out of our keenness to take all decisions that would serve Jordan and Jordanians,” the King said in a tweet on his official Twitter account at the time.

Under the 1994 Wadi Araba Peace Treaty with Israel, Jordan had to decide this year whether or not to renew an agreement that placed thousands of dunums in Baqura, in the northwestern corner of the Kingdom, and Al Ghamr, south of the Dead Sea, at the disposal of Israeli farmers, but the Kingdom decided to terminate the annexes and return the lands to Jordanian sovereignty.