The peace treaty between Jordan and Israel, signed at the Akaba-Eilat border crossing (October 1994), was preceded by a meeting of King Hussein and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in Washington three months earlier, when the two leaders proclaimed an end to the state of war between their countries.
Although de facto at war with each other for 46 years, Israel and Jordan had maintained secret contacts and concluded mutually beneficial agreements throughout that period.
The 1991 Madrid Conference led to public bilateral talks, culminating in a formal treaty (1994) in which both countries have undertaken to refrain from acts of belligerency, to ensure that no threats of violence to the other will originate within their territory, to endeavor to prevent terrorism and act together to achieve security and cooperation in the Middle East by replacing military preparedness with confidence-building measures. Other provisions include agreed allocations from existing water resources, freedom of passage for nationals of both countries, efforts to alleviate the refugee problem and cooperation in the development of the Jordan Rift Valley.
The international boundary delineated in the treaty has replaced the 1949 cease-fire lines and is delimited with reference to the British Mandate boundary (1922-48). With the ratification of the peace treaty, full diplomatic relations were established and, since then, the relationship between Israel and Jordan has been moving forward steadily.
The basis for implementation of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was established with the signing and ratification of 12 bilateral agreements in economic, scientific, and cultural spheres. These treaties are to serve as the foundation of peaceful relations between Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The most significant expression of the peaceful relations is the establishment of Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs), which enables Jordan, via cooperation with Israel, to export to the US quota-free and tariff-free commodities worth more than one billion dollars. Israel is also cooperating with Jordan in two agricultural projects and in public health.
King Abdullah II, who succeeded his father, King Hussein, in March 1999, visited Israel in April 2000.
Following the renewed outbreak of Palestinian terrorism (September 2000) in the territories, relations with Jordan cooled and Jordan recalled its ambassador. There has been a gradual development of relations and Jordan returned its ambassador in 2005.
In June 2003, King Abdullah II hosted a summit in Aqaba with President Bush and with Prime Ministers Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. In April 2004, King Abdullah II visited then Prime Minister Sharon at his residence in the Negev.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Jordan's King Abdullah II (Photo: GPO/ Amos Ben Gershom)