Link to Article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/26/hundreds-protest-in-amman-against-water-energy-deal-with-israel
There is a potential agreement between Jordan and Israel. The deal is that Jordan would receive 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water from Israel in return for 600 megawatts of electricity generated from a UAE-funded solar energy plant in Jordan. Israel has significantly increased their water desalination projects. According to UNICEF, Jordan has very little drinking water, as it is the second-most water-scarce country in the world.Jordan also has the perfect terrain of vast desert areas to hold solar energy farms. Hundreds of Jordanians are protesting this agreement for various reasons, including the suspicion of Israel’s intentions and that it would be moving towards normalizing ties with Israel while it continues to occupy the Palestinian territories. In addition, if Israel’s water was scarce, it isn’t certain that Jordan would have enough power over them with the amount of energy they would be providing.
This agreement could be very beneficial for Jordan, especially with their lack of desalinated water. Though the people’s opposition of this agreement is understandable with how strongly many feel of the Israel-Palestine conflict. Events like that can create lasting suspicion in people that they can’t get over even with potential prosperity from the cooperation between the states. I think it is vital for Jordan to also focus on bettering its own irrigation systems and desalination attempts so that they are not reliant on other countries for something as essential as water. This is because if they were to follow through with the agreement and Israel had a water shortage, Jordan would be in trouble.
From one standpoint of liberalism, it would encourage the agreement because the perspective wants countries to work together for mutual benefit. A country’s strong skill in diplomacy is essential to reciprocity, which will significantly benefit the country. Although, the people of Jordan feel strongly not to follow through with this agreement. Liberalism highly values democracy, so if Jordan carried through with the deal despite the people not supporting the agreement, that would show how the people’s values are not considered. Countries need to abide by the will of the people in political reform because it could result in lots of tension in the country.