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Jordan Is Ending Its 1994 Land Lease With Israel

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will negotiate with Jordan to keep the lease agreement going.
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King Abdullah II of Jordan says his country is ending a land leasing deal with Israel.

The lease agreement was part of a 1994 peace treaty between the two countries. As part of that agreement, Israeli farmers and citizens could freely access around 1,000 acres of land.

The lease was for 25 years but would have automatically renewed at the end of this week if neither country had terminated the agreement.

King Abdullah has been facing pressure from within his country not to renew the lease. Nearly 90 politicians signed a letter asking the king to terminate the lease, and protesters recently took to the streets seeking an end to the agreement.

Issues such as the status of Jerusalem and a lack of peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians have strained relations between Israel and Jordan lately.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will try to negotiate with Jordan to renew the agreement.