Israel–Jordan water add-on deal expires without renewal, cutting supplies to treaty minimum

The 2021 add-on water purchase agreement between Israel and Jordan has expired without renewal. Annual Israeli supplies have dropped from about 100 million cubic metres (MCM) to the 50 MCM guaranteed under the 1994 peace treaty. Under that treaty, Israel is obliged to supply Jordan with around 50 MCM of water a year from Lake Tiberias, partly to offset upstream diversions that sharply reduced flows in the lower Jordan River. The 2021 arrangement added 50 MCM a year, temporarily doubling deliveries to help Jordan meet rising demand and recurring shortages.

When the add-on approached expiry in 2024, Jordan asked Israel to extend it for another year, citing its continuing water stress. Israeli media and regional outlets reported that Jerusalem was considering rejecting or limiting the extension because of Amman’s sharp criticism of the Gaza war and broader bilateral tensions. Israeli officials, according to the source, linked renewal to political conditions, including moderating public rhetoric and restoring full diplomatic engagement. Jordan was reluctant to be seen trading its positions on Gaza and the West Bank for water. The two sides did not agree new terms, and the extra 50 MCM arrangement lapsed. Since late 2025, supplies have reverted to the 50 MCM a year provided under the treaty alone.

Relations had already deteriorated before the talks. The source states that the Gaza war and Israeli actions in the West Bank have pushed political relations to their lowest point in years. In October 2023, Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest at what it described as an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, and told Israel not to return its envoy to Amman. The source notes that public opinion in Jordan, where a majority of citizens are of Palestinian origin, has grown more hostile to visible “normalisation” with Israel, including joint projects.

The source also describes Jordan’s security concerns in the wider conflict. Since 2024, Jordan has repeatedly intercepted drones and missiles crossing its airspace during Iranian attacks on Israel, and more recently has reported intercepting dozens of projectiles directly targeting Jordanian territory. The source argues that tying an extra 50 MCM of drinking water a year to cooperation with Israel now looks more like a potential vulnerability than prudent pragmatism if the conflict escalates.

Jordan is responding by seeking greater control over its water supply. Jordan is already one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, with total available water just above one billion cubic metres a year and heavy reliance on overdrawn aquifers. The centrepiece of its plan is the Aqaba–Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project, known as the National Water Carrier, which will build a large reverse-osmosis desalination plant on the Red Sea and pump around 300 MCM of drinking water a year to Amman and other highland cities. The project is supported by the Green Climate Fund and development banks. Amman is also trying to revive water cooperation with Syria on the Yarmouk River and shared aquifers, and to maintain its agreement with Saudi Arabia over the Disi/Saq fossil aquifer.

The source notes that the expiry of the add-on does not end all prospects for Israeli–Jordanian water cooperation. The civil society group EcoPeace Middle East, the source reports, has used its “Good Water Neighbors” programme to connect Jordanian, Israeli and Palestinian communities along shared rivers and aquifers. Through joint monitoring and local projects, the programme has aimed to build trust even when official relations were strained.

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