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AMMAN: Jordan said on Sunday that Israel had requested consultations on a special land deal agreed in the peace treaty that the Jordanian government wants to end.
Under the peace treaty, two border areas were recognized as under Jordanian sovereignty, but gave Israel special provisions to use the land and grant free access to the Israelis.
Jordan officially announced to Israel two weeks ago that it would not renew the 25-year agreement on Baquora, where the Yarmouk River flows into the Jordan and the Ghumar region, in the southern Wadi Araba desert, where Israeli farmers own large plantations.
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told Reuters that the Kingdom is waiting for Israel to invoke a provision of the peace treaty to hold consultations after notifying the deadline.
Government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat, quoted by the Petra news agency, said Jordan had received the Israeli request but did not say when the talks would begin.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Jordan's decision and said his country was seeking negotiations on the possibility of extending the agreement.
The special 25-year plan would automatically renew unless one of the parties notifies the other, one year before expiry, its willingness to terminate the agreement.
Safadi said the agreement, signed in November 1994, had been designed as a temporary agreement from the beginning. The kingdom had considered the move for a while before the deadline of November 10.
King Abdullah, who pointed out that the territories were Jordanian lands and would remain so, said this decision was made in "the national interest" in this period of regional turmoil.
Jordan is one of only two Arab countries to have a peace treaty with Israel, and the two countries have long maintained close security ties. But the treaty is unpopular in Jordan where pro-Palestinian sentiment is widespread.
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