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King Abdullah II announced on Sunday that Jordan would terminate Israel's lease of two small areas along the country's common border, surprising farmers of Moshav Zofar in the southern Arava region.
Sunday afternoon, after the announcement, local children were selling cold lemonade for two shekels (50 cents) in front of the local library. One of their mothers sarcastically suggested raising their price by saying, "They are taking away our agriculture and we have no money left.
Officials from the Central Arava Regional Council and farmers who work in the enclave near the moshav claim that they were unaware that Jordan's move was imminent, although the treaty gives this last the right to exercise the option to terminate the lease to land every 25 years.
"It's a death sentence for the 35 farmers who work there," said Eitan Lifshitz, director of Moshav Zofar. "At a later stage, it will be a death sentence for the entire moshav."
"We have one year," said Lifshitz, who expressed hope that a work plan could be developed within two months to reflect issues such as "where we are going; what will we get from the state to abandon the enclave. "
"We need to know what will happen if the king does not change his mind," he added.
The territories in question are known in Arabic as al-Baqura and al-Ghamar, and the Naharayim and Zofar in Hebrew. Jordan decided Sunday to withdraw from these two annexes, located in the northern and southern areas of the border, the 1994 peace treaty authorizing Israel to rent these areas.
Even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the issue would be the subject of negotiations with Jordan, Mr. Lifshitz is not optimistic that an agreement could be reached to extend the lease land in the enclave. "I believe King Abdullah," said Lifshitz. "I do not think he speaks, nor that the subject is the subject of negotiations."
Thirty-five farmers in Zofar are working the land in the enclave, which includes 1,100 dunams (275 acres). The Israeli-Jordanian treaty stipulates that the country is under Jordanian sovereignty although it has been exploited by Israelis for many years before the signing of the treaty.
The enclave east of Zofar is more fertile than the land on the Moshav itself, explained Lifshitz, as it lies at a higher altitude and has better water quality . Farmers are not required to pay fees for the use of rented land, but Lifshitz said it was not a major concession to Israel because land in the area had not been anyway not a great value.
One possibility for farmers is to move their enclave farms to Israeli territory. Moshav Zofar has alternative lands that have been cleared of mines in recent years, but still require infrastructure and leveling of fields for agriculture.
For its part, Lifshitz said that this would involve an investment of several tens of millions of shekels. "Clearly, these are amounts that farmers can not afford to pay, and I really hope that the state will tap into its pockets. There is no alternative here in the Arava region other than agricultural work. "
Most farmers working in the enclave land grow peppers, but a plot is also used to grow flowers. The size of the plots varies and, according to Lifshitz, out of the 35 farmers in the area, about 20 plots on at least 20 dunams (5 acres), and it is the farmers who would suffer the most from the loss of these lands.
Erez Gibori, 36, moved to Zofar after finishing the army, where he was a deputy artillery company commander. He has lived in Zofar for 11 years with his wife and three children.
"When I moved here, I wanted to become a farmer," he said. "After two years, I had my plot, about 80 dunams, which are all in the enclave."
Like many of his counterparts, Gibori grows peppers and, like Lifshitz, Gibori believes that Jordan 's decision is final and that he will have to leave his field.
Despite his skepticism, however, he continues to believe that Israel should continue negotiations with Jordan. "It's in the hands of the prime minister," he said.
"I also do not think we can transfer agriculture to Israel," he added. "If the enclave is closed to us, it does not seem economically realistic to restore the farm." If he is forced to move his farm to Israel, he could refrain from growing peppers, which are expensive, and move on to another culture, perhaps dates.
"The damage to my family will be very serious if we have to move," he said. "Those who do not work in agriculture do not have many job opportunities in the region. I am very scared that we have to leave because we will not have any other choice. This is an event that prevents me, and I still can not imagine. "
Another pepper producer, Eitan Guedj, who owns a plot of 30 dunam in the enclave, has expressed doubts that the government would recognize the scale of the problem and provide its own funding. "We farmers know the government," he said. "Even in an election period, politicians do not come here. We do not really interest anyone.
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