Jordanian Member of Parliament Khamis Ateya recently revealed that secret talks are being held between Jordan and Israel on exchanging water.
According to the information that Ateya posted on his Facebook page, the mutual talks have reached a stage where it has been agreed that: “Israel gets the water of Al-Dissi Basin in Jordan in return for an unidentified amount of water from Tiberius.”
Ateya expressed his shock over the talks, writing: “I do not know what kind of genius the Jordanian ministry of water has! Under the claim of exchanging water with the Israelis, he gives our water to them.”
The Parliamentarian called upon the Jordanian government to cancel these plans, which would deny Jordanians water in favour of the Israelis. “It is not allowed for the Jordanian government to pump Jordanian water to Israel under any circumstances,” he wrote.
He advised the government to pass the water of the Al-Dissi Basin to Jordanians in the north of the country rather than exchanging water with Israel. He also called for the government to devise plans to make use of rainwater during the winter.