Israel-Jordan peace treaty marks 30th anniversary amid regional tensions

The 30th anniversary of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty was commemorated last week as diplomats and policymakers gathered at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University.

The landmark agreement, signed in 1994 by then-U.S. President Bill Clinton and Jordanian King Hussein ended a 46-year state of war between the two countries, now faces new challenges amid the ongoing war in Gaza and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood within the Jordanian Parliament.

The anniversary event featured speakers involved in the original negotiations and implementation of the treaty, though no Jordanians participated.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz reaffirmed the importance of the peace treaty.

“The agreement enhanced stability, security and prosperity in both countries, and it will continue to benefit our two states in the future, despite various challenges,” Katz wrote on 𝕏.

“While we currently face the forces of evil that seek to destroy us and to destabilize the Middle East, it is important to remember that Israel remains committed to peace with our neighbors in the region.”

Dr. Rafa Halabi from Daliyat al-Karmel, a Druze town in the Haifa District, spoke with media outlets about the three-decade-old treaty.

“This peace is crucial; Israel and Jordan form a gateway to the region. While this peace holds strategic value, some Arab countries haven’t fully embraced its potential, Halabi said. For peace to thrive in the Middle East, including with countries like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and even Iran, we need to focus on business and development that benefits all people in this region. The Middle East needs peace, not war.”

Jordanian officials have not echoed those comments, but instead criticize Israel’s handling of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Last month, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi delivered a speech on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly insisting that Arab and Muslim countries would guarantee Israel’s security if Jerusalem agreed to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state according to pre-1967 lines, while simultaneously blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to do so.

“The amount of damage that this Israeli government has done – 30 years of efforts to convince people that peace is possible, this Israeli government killed it. The amount of dehumanization, hatred, bitterness, will take generations to navigate through,” Safadi said.

“We have no partner for peace in Israel, there is a partner for peace in the Arab world, and that’s why the international community needs to move.”

INSS senior researcher Ofir Winter spoke about the impact the Muslim Brotherhood has had on Israel-Jordanian relations, highlighting the group's unprecedented gain in winning of 31 out of 138 parliamentary seats in the 2024 elections.

“While the Brotherhood historically was integrated into and co-opted by Jordan’s political and social system, its recent electoral success in the parliamentary elections, combined with the impact of the Gaza war, has given the movement newfound confidence to challenge the regime and its foreign policy,” Winter said.

In 2020, Jordan followed Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in banning the global movement of the Muslim Brotherhood after it had been operating there for more than 70 years.

Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip formed an offshoot of the Brotherhood in 1987 called "Hamas."

The Muslim Brotherhood party has led pro-Hamas protests in Jordan since the start of the Gaza War last October and fueled the anti-Israel movement in Jordan and across the Middle East.