US marks 25 years of peace treaty between Jordan and Israel

Secretary of State Pompeo says 1994 agreement ‘began a tradition of peaceful and respectful cooperation that continues today’

By JTA 27 October 2019, 7:44 pm

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Then-US president Bill Clinton puts his hand on his heart, as he stands with then-Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, left, and Jordan's King Hussein while national anthems are played at the Israeli/Jordan peace signing ceremony at the Wadi Araba Israel/Jordan border crossing near Eilat in Israel on October 26, 1994. (AP/David Brauchli)

The United States marked the 25th anniversary of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan.

“Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the State of Israel, an agreement that began a tradition of peaceful and respectful cooperation that continues today,” read the statement signed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and dated Saturday.

“We take this opportunity to praise the enduring efforts of our two allies and friends to find common ground and build a productive and stable relationship for the mutual benefit of the Jordanian and Israeli people,” the statement also said.

The quiet border is considered a cold peace by both Israel and Jordan. There is little public support in Jordan for the agreement, The Associated Press reported. Jordan is upset at the lack of progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, as well as what it perceives as a change in status quo on issues relating to the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem and other holy sites that its religious Wakf oversees.