In an unusual and particularly infuriating announcement, Jordanian lawmaker Tareq Khouri called on the citizens of his country to blow up pipelines that are supposed to deliver natural gas from Israel to Jordan. Khouri, a Christian, said in early July: "I want to propose something to all the members [of parliament]: Sign an 'honor charter.' Everyone is free to risk their lives and the lives of their children to blow up every [Israeli] gas pipeline passing through Jordanian territory. We will all become martyrs. We will sign this 'honor charter' to prevent this pipeline from entering one centimeter of Jordanian soil."
Many people in Jordan oppose the gas deal between the two countries, but this was a new low. Negotiations over the gas deal were launched back in 2011, and it was signed in 2016 with the help of American mediation after several delays. The agreement will allow natural gas from the Israel's "Leviathan" offshore gas field to Jordan's electric company, and the scope of the deal is $10 billion over a 15-year period. Israel is slated to begin delivering he gas in early 2020.
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From the start, the deal was strongly opposed by a bevy of Jordanian lawmakers and significant portions of the Jordanian public. Dozens of protest demanding an end to the deal were held in Jordan, with calls to cease talks with the "Zionist enemy."
Many Jordanians denounce the agreement because it was written in English, in contravention of Jordanian law, and that the only currencies stipulated in the deal are the Israeli shekel and US dollar, not the Jordanian dinar. In December 2014, a majority of Jordanian parliamentarians voted for a resolution calling for the Jordanian government to cancel the deal.
The speaker of the lower house of the Jordanian parliament, Atef Tarawneh, recently said that all strata of Jordanian society and lawmakers oppose the agreement with the "Zionist entity," and called for its annulment at all costs. Some parliamentarians even demanded the government be sued for signing the deal with Israel without parliamentary approval.
Indeed, despite the peace accord and exchange of ambassadors, many Jordanians view Israel as a pariah enemy state. But this is a double game: Open hostility toward Israel is a tool the government uses to maintain its popularity; but behind the scenes, relations remain good, both to preserve relations with the Trump administration and to ensure the supply of water and other things that are best kept a secret.
Thus, despite the belligerent rhetoric, the Jordanian government is rational and has avoided hasty declarations capable of torpedoing the deal, which the kingdom badly needs. Additionally, a monetary fine of $1.5 billion is attached to the contract.
Jordan's King Abdullah has yet to comment on the matter. In late April, Jordanian media outlets reported he was analyzing the deal and would decide whether to greenlight or freeze it.
This is a sensitive time for Israeli-Jordanian relations, and not just because of the gas deal. On October 28, 2018, Jordan decided to pull out of clauses in the peace accord that allow Israel to lease two small areas comprising 1,000 acres of agricultural land from the Jordanians for 25 years. We still don't know whether Jordan will seek to impose full sovereignty over these areas, or if the sides are engaged in talks to resolve the issue. It's very possible the gas deal and the land issue are intertwined.
