Diplomacy on the Jordan [electronic resource] : International Conflict and Negotiated Resolution

546 Pages·2002·58.6 MB·English

by  Haddadin, Munther J

DIPLOMACY ON THE JORDAN:
INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND
NEGOTIATED RESOLUTION
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND POLICY
Editors:
Ariel Dinar David Zilberman
Rural Development Department Dept. of Agricultural and
The World Bank Resource Economics
1818 H Street, NW Univ. of California, Berkeley
Washington, DC 20433 Berkeley, CA 94720
EDITORIAL STATEMENT
There is a growing awareness to the role that natural resources such as water, land,
forests and environmental amenities play in our lives. There are many competing uses
for natural resources, and society is challenged to manage them for improving social
well being. Furthermore, there may be dire consequences to natural resources
mismanagement. Renewable resources such as water, land and the environment are
linked, and decisions made with regard to one may affect the others. Policy and
management of natural resources now require interdisciplinary approach including
natural and social sciences to correctly address our society preferences.
This series provides a collection of works containing most recent findings on
economics, management and policy of renewable biological resources such as water,
land, crop protection, sustainable agriculture, technology, and environmental health.
It incorporates modem thinking and techniques of economics and management. Books
in this series will incorporate knowledge and models of natural phenomena with
economics and managerial decision frameworks to assess alternative options for
managing natural resources and environment.
With water becoming a subject to dispute between riparian nations, we strive to better
understand processes of negotiation over water agreements. Therefore, understanding
the non-water and water background natures of the disputes, the structure of possible
and actual negotiations, and patterns of cooperation among riparian nations is of great
importance. This book analyzes the Jordanian-Israeli water affairs in the Jordan River
Basin, using a wide and interdisciplinary perspective. It reveals many untold facts
from the entire dispute and negotiation processes, starting from the 1950s and ending
with the water accord in 1974.
The Series Editors
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DIPLOMACY ON THE JORDAN:
INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT AND
NEGOTIATED RESOLUTION
by
Munther J. Haddadin
F ormer Minister of Water and Irrigation
and
lordan's ChiefWater Negotiator
SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Haddadin, Munther J.
Diplomacy on the Jordan : international conflict and negotiated resolution I by
Munther J. Haddadin.
p. cm. - (Natural resource management and policy ; 21)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4613-5591-5 ISBN 978-1-4615-1513-5 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-1513-5
1. Jordan River-Water rights. 2. Water resources development-Law and
legislation-Jordan River Valley. 3. Arab-Israeli conflict-I993-I. Title.
II. Series.
KMC660.J67 H33 2001
333.91'6217'095694--dc21 2001038671
Copyright @2002 by Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 2002
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 2002
AlI rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical,
photo-copying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Printed on acid-free paper.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Figures xi
List of Tables xiii
List of Appendices xv
Foreword xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Chapter I - Plans for the Jordan River Basin 1
1. Geography 1
2. Historical Developments 2
3. Western Missions to Palestine 5
4. Early Zionist Missions 7
5. The British Mandate Period 9
5.1 The Rutenburg Concession 15
5.2 More Water Plans for the Jordan 17
5.3 The Parties Compete for Water 18
6. End ofthe Mandate- Creation ofIsrael 21
7. Conflicting Water Plans 23
7.1 The MacDonald Plan (Jordan) 23
7.2 The Bunger Plan (Jordan) 25
7.3 The All Israel Plan (Israel) 30
7.4 The Syrian -Lebanese Plan 31
8. Unilateral Implementation of the Plans 31
9. Involvement ofthe United States 36
Chapter II - Resorting to Diplomacy 41
1. The Chas T Mainl TVA Plan 42
2. The Johnston Shuttle Diplomacy 46
2.1 The Reaction in Jordan 48
2.2 Reaction in Israel 55
3. The Arab Counterproposals- The Arab Plan (1954) 56
3.1 Utilization ofthe Yarmouk River 59
3.2 Utilization ofthe Jordan River Waters
North of Lake Tiberias 60
VI
3.3 Utilization of the Jordan River Waters
South of Lake Tiberias 61
4. The Israeli Counterproposals - The Cotton Plan (1954) 65
Chapter III - Attempts at Reconciliation -
The Johnston's Shuttle 67
1. Negotiating with the Arab Side- Second Round 67
1.1 Public Mood 67
1.2 Political Environment 68
1.3 Talks with the Technical Committee 72
2. Negotiating with the Israelis-Second Round 76
3. American Evaluation of the Second Round 83
4. Johnston's Third Round 84
4.1 New Data Availability 84
4.2 Political Developments 84
4.3 Coordination with Britain and UNRWA 85
4.4 Talks with the Israelis 87
4.5 Meetings with the Arab Committee 89
4.6 Lobbying for Support in Jordan 93
4.7 Follow Up Discussions In Syria 96
4.8 Meeting with the Arab Ministers in Lebanon 97
4.9 Discussions In Israel-American Pressure 101
4.10 American Assessment of the Third Round 106
4.11 Briefing the United Nations Secretary General 108
4.12 Briefing the British Government 109
4.13 Public Reactions in Jordan 109
4.14 Memorandum with the Israelis 110
4.15 The Palestinian View of the Johnston Mission 111
5. Johnston's Fourth Round 111
5.1 Talks in Jordan 111
5.2 Decision of the Arab Technical Committee 114
5.3 Johnston with Premier Jamal Abdul Nasser 116
5.4 Johnston with the Concerned Foreign Ministers 118
5.5 Decision of the Political Committee
of the Arab League 120
5.6 Reflections on the Arab Reaction 121
5.7 Israel's Position on the Johnston Plan 123
Chapter IV - Preventive Diplomacy 127
1. The Arm's Race 127
2. The Lahoud Plan for the Jordan Basin 130
3. The East Ghor Canal Project 132
VB
4. The Suez Crisis and its Aftermath 133
5. Launching the Pilot Scheme in the Jordan Valley 138
6. Israeli Response to the Yarmouk Diversion Project 145
7. Israeli -American Differences 149
8. Contacts with the World Bank 153
9. Criddle's Follow Up Mission-Relaxation of U.S Pressure 154
10. Water in Arab Political Rivalries 157
11. The Adasiyya Diversion Weir 161
12. Summary of Jordan Waters' Problem 162
Chapter V - Spinning Out of Control 165
1. The Arab Response to the Israeli Project 165
2. The Arab Cold War Heats Up 173
3. Arab Efforts Resurrected-The Arab Summit 177
4. Appraisals and Reactions 180
5. The Second Arab Summit 181
6. U.S. Interventions with Israel 183
7. Clashes across the Cease Fire Lines 188
8. Arab Disarray Prior to the June Explosion 190
8.1 Saudi-Egyptian Relations 190
8.2 Egyptian-Jordanian Relations 191
8.3 Egyptian-Syrian Alliance 193
8.4 Egyptian-Iraqi Relations 194
9. The June 1967 Explosion 196
9.1 American Feelers-A Presidential Envoy 199
9.2 Israel Strikes From the Air 200
9.3 The Soviet Policy 201
9.4 Was it a Water War? 201
Chapter VI - Water for the Jordan Valley 209
1. The Aftermath of the 1967 War 209
2. Rehabilitation and Development ofthe Jordan Valley 211
3. Water Supply From the Yarmouk 212
4. The Ramadan/ Yom Kippur War of 1973 216
5. Resumption of the Development Effort 218
6. Water Contribution From the Yarmouk and Side Wadis 219
7. The Maqarin Dam 221
7.1 Contacts with the World Bank 223
7.2 The Maqarin Studies 223
7.3 Political Complications 225
8. Reverting to Shuttle Diplomacy 226
9. A Source for Municipal Water 228
Vlll
10. A Mission to Damascus 231
11. Habib's Last Visit 233
Chapter VII - The Sand Bar 237
1. Importance of the Yarmouk 237
2. Contacts to Clean the Sand Bar 238
3. The First Cleaning Operation 243
4. A Call After Midnight 244
5. The Pleasant Surprise 251
6. The Israeli Reaction 255
7. Off- Canal Storage Found 257
8. The Picnic Table 258
9. A Daring Operation on the Yarmouk 259
10. A Scary Presentation 263
11. American Interest and Follow-Up 267
12. Removal of the Sand Bar 271
13. The Maqarin Project Revived 272
Chapter VIII - The Middle East Peace Process 283
1. Back to Shuttle Diplomacy 283
2. Jordan Gets Ready 285
3. The Bilateral Negotiations Start 286
4. A Water Meeting with the Americans 288
5. Developments in the Bilateral Track 291
6. The Multilateral Conference: The Vienna Chat 295
7. Substance in the Bilaterals 299
8. The Washington Encounter 305
9. A Visit by the United States Ambassador 311
Chapter IX - The Common Agenda 315
1. Need for a Breakthrough 315
2. Publication ofthe Draft Common Agenda 319
3. The Reaction in Jordan 321
4. Israeli Reaction 323
5. Israeli Proposal for Water Agenda 324
6. Replacement in the Delegation 327
Chapter X - The Process Continues 331
1. Rejoining the Delegation 331
2. Validation of the Water Strategy 331
3. A Meeting with the Prime Minister 333
4. Resumption of the Peace Process 334
ix
5. Water, Energy and Environment 337
6. Majali the Prime Minister 342
7. Substantive Water Talks 343
8. The Oslo Accords 345
9. The Trilateral Economic Committee 349
10. The Jordan Rift Valley 353
11. Fast Turns in Events 356
12. The Bilaterals in The Rift Valley 358
13. Water at the Moria Plaza 360
14. Terms of Reference, JRV 366
15. Involvement of the World Bank 368
16. Meetings in Beit Gibrael 369
17. The September Turn 371
Chapter XI - The Peace Treaty 377
1. The Bilaterals Merge with the Trilaterals 377
2. The Visit to Hashimyyah 379
3. A Review of Potential Positions 380
4. Serious Negotiations Commence 385
4.1 In Aqaba 385
4.2 At Hashimyya West of Amman 392
5. The Peace Treaty Concluded 398
6. The Middle East- North Africa Economic Summit 402
7. At the Multilateral Working Group on Water Resources 403
8. Public Campaign 405
Chapter XII - The Challenge of Implementation 411
1. The Mechanism ofImplementation 411
2. Resolution of Points of Contention 411
3. Stalling factors 415
4. The Ministerial Confrontation 417
5. The Diversion Weir and Lake Tiberias Storage 427
6. The Fall of Majali's (Peace) Government 439
Appendices 445
Index 523