Relations between Jordanian and
Israeli governments have deteriorated
over the past months, reaching their
lowest point since the 1994 peace treaty
was signed. Ambassadors have been
recalled, accusations exchanged and
mutually beneficial trade, water and
investment projects put on hold in the
latest worrying signal of a breakdown in
regional diplomacy in an increasingly
conflictual Middle East.
One consequence of the current
diplomatic crisis has been the
suspension of a regional water-sharing
project known as the Red Sea-Dead
Sea Canal (RSDSC). In early November,
the Israeli government informed
Jordan that the regional project would
not move forward until Ambassador
Schlein and her staff were allowed to
return. The Israeli position is that “we
cannot have a situation where on the
one hand the Jordanians do not allow
us to reopen the embassy and on the
other hand we continue to advance
projects that are important to them as if
nothing had happened.”6 At the end of
November, Israel considered replacing
their envoy to Amman with another
ambassador, but Jordan refused to
budge.