Jordan’s pursuit to end its water
crisis seems to have generated another set of problems. A plan arranged between
Jordan, Israel and the UAE would see Jordan acquire fresh water
from a new desalination plant in Israel in return for providing it with energy.
اضافة اعلان
It may seem odd that the UAE is
involved, but its role is to finance the prospective solar plant that will
complete Jordan’s part of the deal.
Of course, energy cooperation is needed
under the current circumstances. Jordan, like the rest of the world, is facing
a toxic concoction of severe economic downturn and morbid consequences of
climate change. But the task is difficult, for, trying to confront the problem
only leads to a moral dilemma.
The above deal consists of more than
just energy and water, and this is clear to anyone with the slightest sense of
awareness. By following through this project, we risk further normalization with
Israel, and to some, this is giving approval to Israel’s heinous actions
against the Palestinians and its innumerable violations of international law.
Jordanians, many of whom are of
Palestinian origin, view such a deal as an indignity; in essence, they be
paying a price for something that is already thiers. Given this, it is no surprise that
hundreds of thousands publicly protested against the deal. After all, according
to the 2020 Arab Opinion Index, 93 percent of Jordanians are opposed to
diplomatic recognition of Israel.
The UAE’s involvement in the deal
has diplomatic ramifications as well. Part of what ensures Jordan’s prosperity
in this turbulent region is its careful neutrality. Typically, Jordan’s leaders
and diplomats maintain a level of negotiating skill unseen in the world. In the
1990s, Jordan was able to maintain relations with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, the US
and the Gulf states at once, all the while entering peace negotiations with
Israel. Just this year Jordan began building ties with Iran, with whom tensions
have been high since the revolution of 1979.
This energy-for-water deal is unlike
Jordan because it places it firmly in one camp and runs the risk of alienating
important regional powers. Aside from frustrating Iran and Qatar, this move may
worsen relations with Saudi Arabia, Jordan’s largest neighbor, which was
surprised to have been sidelined.
Given all this, it would be easy to
paint the deal as unethical and illogical, but there are always two sides of a
story. Even the most unpopular opinions deserve a voice. That voice is Mohammad
Al Najjar’s, minister of water and irrigation.
After the agreement was made at the
Dubai World Expo last November, the minister received an extraordinary amount
of backlash from the Jordanian public. His phone number was leaked, and soon
his inbox was filled to the brim with insulting and threatening messages. But
is the minister the villain Jordan has made him out to be?
Najjar, a Palestinian himself,
stresses that it is the dismal water crisis Jordan faces that pushed our
government to make this move.
“I expected a high level of opposition
because of Israel’s behavior toward the Palestinians. Because of the economic
situation, people found this deal to be a trigger,” he said.
If the minister knew this, why did
he go through with the deal?
He said that Jordan is in dire need
of water, and that Emirati investors would like to make money by selling clean
electricity, which Jordan has much potential in producing, to the Israelis.
This is when “we proposed water for electricity, and vice versa”.
What about other options? It seems
there are none, at least none affordable, according to the minister, and that
is true.
A look at our neighboring states
shows that Jordan is not left with many options. Iraq, besides many other
internal issues, is also experiencing water shortages thanks to a Turkish dam
on the Euphrates. Obviously, the Saudis have to desalinate to get their own
drinking water, and Syria has its own affairs to look after.
The aforementioned agreement, or,
technically speaking, expression of intent, took three to four months of
planning. Thus, it may be the case that this arrangement was well-planned.
After all, water is the lifeline of
a nation.
We are now left with some food for
thought: when it comes to critical matters like this, can we allow ideology and
pride to take a backseat to practical solutions? Even in this circumstance,
Jordan may be able to offer some more resistance to Israeli policy. With the
leverage of an important asset like solar power, Jordan may be able to put its
foot down against further Israeli abuse of Palestinians and this apartheid
state’s other reprehensible actions. Most times, Jordan is at the receiving end
of foreign influence, but this can change with the long-term energy
development.
Still, even if we get a pass and the
minister’s reasoning justifies this to the public, it must be said that in
almost all cases, cooperating with the Zionist entity is deplorable. Perhaps
the focus should be on educating our young generation in order to reach a point
of self-sustainability in the coming decades.
Jordan must remain unwavering in its
obligation to oppose Israel. Jordan and its people will work to better their
situation and that of the Palestinians, even if the realities of the climate
crisis and realpolitik get in the way.
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