Hundreds of Israelis arrived on Saturday, November 9, in Naharaim - the day before the return of this territory of Jordan. The head of the regional council, Emek ha-Yarden, Idan Greenbaum, said that organized tours went to the Naharaim area once an hour so that as many Israelis as possible could take a walk on the so-called “island of peace” before closing the border tonight. The last race took place at three in the afternoon.

No special events are expected.. At least from the Israeli side, where the need to return the territory is perceived with sadness as the end of an era, write News.

Farmers of the Jordan Valley, who have been cultivating this territory for 70 years and considered it their home, are especially hard on what is happening.. Until the last moment, they hoped that the authorities would be able to agree on keeping the enclave under Israeli control, but they were seriously disappointed..

For the past 25 years, Naharaim has remained an Israeli enclave in accordance with the peace treaty concluded in 1994 between Israel and Jordan..

Idan Greenbaum, head of the regional council, Emek ha-Yarden, said that all locals feel sad and disappointed.. " - we are citizens of Israel, not Jordan. We expected the government to say something or thank local farmers for 70 years of work during times of war and peace.. But no one came, as if we were not interested in anyone. "

According to him, Israel was negotiating with the Jordanians in an attempt to extend the lease term, but no serious efforts were made, as if it were a secondary issue.. " They’ll just close the border tonight, and the era will end, "

The manager of the tourism complex, Naharaim Shay Adar, said that despite the pain of loss, coordination with the Jordanians continues..

On October 21, 2018, King Abdullah of Jordan issued a statement that sounded like a bolt from the blue in Israel. 24 years after the signing of the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty between the former Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin and the father of the current king, King Hussein, the royal house announced its refusal to extend the validity of one of the annexes to the agreement.

The aforementioned annex concerned the territories in the Naharaim region in the north and the Zofar enclave in Arava, which Israel had leased from Jordan since the signing of the treaty, and now must be returned to Jordanian control within a year.

We are talking about the demilitarized border zone, which Jordan gave Israel for " Thus, the Tsofar enclave is an area of \u200b\u200b4,500 dunams, 1,500 of which are agricultural land used by farmers in the neighboring Israeli village of Tsofar.

Israelis were allowed to be there from morning until nightfall. Despite the fact that this enclave is considered Jordanian territory, Israeli farmers have so far been able to visit it without the difficulties associated with normal border control. The upcoming change in status means that Israelis will lose their farms created there.

As for Naharaim, it is located on the border of Israel and Jordan near the village of Menachemia on the banks of two rivers - Yarmouk and Jordan. There is the so-called Peace Park, where in 1997 a Jordanian soldier opened fire on a group of Israeli schoolgirls.. Nevertheless, this area continued to be a symbol of peaceful coexistence, and Israeli tourist groups could safely walk to the Jordanian part of the park, accompanied by a guide.

The corresponding annex to the peace treaty, signed on October 26, 1994, states that 25 years after its signing, each of the parties will be able to refuse leasing, provided that this is announced one year before the deadline. Therefore, Jordan’s message was published exactly one year before the 25th anniversary..

Jordan warned that it does not intend to discuss land returns with Israel All attempts made over the past year to agree with Jordan to extend the contract were unsuccessful.