Israeli soldiers
© AFPIsraeli soldiers patrol the border fence in Naharayim, known in Arabic as Baqoura, an area set to return to Jordanian control next month
If Israeli farmers go, Jordanians 'will feel the thirst'

The son of former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon says Jordanians will go thirsty if King Abdullah II and the Jordanian government go ahead with their decision to stop leasing two fertile areas to Israel after 25 years.

Writing in an opinion piece for Ynet, Gilad Sharon said: "Diplomacy is a delicate matter, so the Jordanian king should be told very gently: If you push Israeli farmers out of Naharayim and Tzofar, you will remain thirsty.

"Not Abdullah personally, in the palace, he will, of course, continue to serve chilled mineral water in glass bottles covered with dew beads...But the people of the kingdom will feel the thirst."

The two areas - Baqoura and al-Ghamra which are known as Nahariyim and Tzofar in Hebrew - were rented to Israel as part of the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace agreement, which allowed either party to opt-out after 25 years.

A year ago, following pressure from protesters and parliamentarians, Jordanian King Abdullah II told Israel he would not renew the agreement. The territories, used for farming and tourism, are scheduled to be transferred back to Jordanian control early next month.