(MENAFN- Alghad Newspaper)
About the Israeli Natural Gas importation agreement; it would be unwise to disregard recent developments as to Jordan's relationship with the occupier. The unrest is staggering.
So far, Israel seems determined to undermine the articles of the 1994 peace treaty, along with at least one or two UN resolutions; especially those clearly underlining Jordan's guardianship of the Aqsa and the sanctities of Jerusalem.
Notwithstanding the expedited Judaisation of the Aqsa Mosque complex, which is a major violation, mindfully, we also still haven't heard the last about the assassination of Jordanian Judge Raed Zuaitar; so, what exactly are the outcomes of the investigation?!
The point is that no agreement, treaty, or otherwise diplomatic or political document can keep the occupation's hounds on leash! Despite all the diplomacy between Jordan and Israel, nothing kept them from killing Judge Zuaitar right there on the border crossing.
That said, how on earth did we end up putting our national energy security fund in the hands of an occupational state that has no regard whatsoever to international law; let alone bilateral agreements?!
Recently, the members of the House of Representatives demanded they review the agreement and set up a public session to discuss it, which is rightly within their legal capacity as MPs, especially since it ties Jordan to Israel 15 years.
Contrarily, dozens of MPs voted against revising it. With some MPs absent; as they didn't even bother to attend the session, the result was an agreement to provide the Parliamentary Committee with a copy of the gas accord within 24 hours, as a form of concession maybe.
Out of the whole House, 23 out of 96 present MPs voted in favour of holding a public discussion, whereas the remaining 73 had voted against, after having arrived at the conclusion that it cannot be revisited.
The Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr Ibrahim Saif, stated to the House that the government will cover all the details of the agreement with the MP committee.
However, Dr Saif reasoned that due to there being a number of sealed commercial terms, the agreement cannot be publically disclosed, under the pretext that these terms entail confidential information on the partner's finances.
There; that was the last we heart on this topic.
All of the sudden, the discussion stopped, in spite of the fact that the government's justification was far from convincing.
Notably, it would have made sense had the government secured preferential and competitive price offering out of the deal, but the prices were commercial; not much less than the market average.
The agreement conditions that Jordan starts importing 40 per cent of its requirements of natural gas for power generation from Israel, effective in two years.
Come 2019, according to the agreement signed by Jordan's National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and the US energy company, Noble, Jordan will export 225 million square feet of natural gas.
As far as the information at hand goes, neither confirmed nor denied by the government, Jordan will be paying between USD7 and USD9 per million square feet.
On their part, at the global oil price index hit USD100 per barrel, the Cabinet insists that importing natural gas from Israel should save the Treasury approximately JOD400 million, annually.
That in mind, what if the global oil price does not increase?
In the end, the fact remains that the government has signed the agreement, and cannot back out from it. But it is only reasonable that the government allows for the public discussion of its terms, in full disclosure, by the MPs.
It is vital that MPs opposing the agreement get the necessary chance to explain their positions, for the government to explain theirs, by explaining why the agreement is politically and principally, financially sound.
Whether the public agrees with it or not has nothing to do with any of this. What does is the fact that the agreement has tied our future to the mercy of an enemy who is as treacherous as any, if not even worse.
That said, the government should answer to the public in this regard, to reassure the people that their energy security is safeguarded, and that our fate is not tied to the whims and moods of the enemy; at least not entirely!
Meanwhile, the government should keep in mind that the public will never agree to the accord, that protest against it will not cease, and that it is the government's duty to explain its reasoning, all the while respectfully acknowledging the public's right to information and knowledge!
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic version, published by AlGhad.
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