On the 23rd anniversary for signing the Israel–Jordan peace treaty (Wadi Arabah Treaty), the Israeli Embassy in Amman is still closed following the latest deadly incident, in which two Jordanians were shot dead by an Israeli security guard in August.

Israeli staff returned to their country after Jordan demanded an investigation into the incident and questioned the Israeli guard. Meanwhile, Israel argued that the guard had diplomatic immunity and should be repatriated, with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu welcoming the embassy guard as a hero upon his return home.

The incident angered the Jordanian community and strained Jordan-Israeli relations in the midst of the Al Aqsa crisis, where Israel set up metal detectors at the entrances of the compound.

King Abdullah II stressed that Israel should be responsible for launching a credible investigation into the incident to reach justice, alongside other cases of Israeli abuse against Jordanians, including the case of Ra’ed Zeiter. Zeiter, a Palestinian with Jordanian citizenship, was shot dead by Israeli soldiers in 2014 at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan.

It is within this tense climate that the 23rd anniversary of the Wadi Arabah Treaty comes around; an agreement that was signed between Jordan and Israel in 1994, with the ceremony taking place at the southern border crossing of Arabah.

The treaty ‘normalized’ relations between both countries, adjusted borders disputes, and made Jordan the second Arab country to sign a peace accord with Israel, after Egypt, and the third country after Egypt and the Palestinian Authority to ‘normalize’ relations with Israel.

“Since the signing of the treaty, mutual relations between the two countries have never drifted apart like they have now. It is the first time Israel has closed the embassy in Amman since 1994,” Dawood Kuttab, a journalist told Roya.

Kuttab added that Jordan’s attitude towards the incident, and Israel’s rejection to meet the kingdom’s demands, is the main reason behind tensions between the two countries

Tensions have been highlighted in recent disputes over the Jordan-Israel Two-Seas Canal project, also known as the Red Sea–Dead Sea Conveyance project, which was agreed on by both parties in December 2015. The project is currently at risk after Jordan demanded the responsible company to ensure its finances are under complete Jordanian control, according to Kuttab.

Earlier today, Minister for Media Affairs, Mohammad Momani expressed Jordan’s continued fight for justice in the wake of the embassy shooting.

“The government insists on establishing justice in the embassy incident,” he told reporters, adding that Jordan’s government has been informed that investigations have launched by Israeli government, and that the Jordanian embassy is following the investigation in accordance with legal procedures.

However, despite the begining of investigations into the incident, Jordanian frustrations with Israel remain high. 

“A quarter of a century of the Wadi Arabah Treaty, which was signed in a tent in southern Jordan, will never be able to bring peace with an enemy that rejects all the legal, national and international legitimacy for the Palestinians,” Journalist Majid Tawbah told Roya.

Samih al-Maaytah, the former Minister for Media Affairs confirmed the reason behind fading relations is the Israeli government’s intolerance in dealing with mutual issues between both parties, stating: “Israel fails every peace treaty.”

“Israel provokes Jordan in many issues, the most prominent one is the embassy’s incident, Ra’ed Zeiter incident, and its continuous raids into the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem,” he added.

Twenty-three years on, while Jordan appears committed to the peace treaty with Israel, damaged relations between the two countries do not appear to have healed since the embassy shooting, bringing to question the future of the Wadi Arabah agreement.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition