Jordan Valley

The details are regulated by the Israel–Jordan peace treaty of 1994, which establishes an "administrative boundary" between Jordan and the West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, without prejudice to the status of that territory.

[7] South of the Dead Sea, the continuation of the larger Jordan Rift Valley contains the hot, dry area known as Wadi 'Araba, the "wilderness" or "Arabah desert" of the Bible.

In the West Bank the Israeli Bik'at HaYarden Regional Council contains 21 settlements with a total of 4,200 residents as of 2014, and the independent municipality of Ma'ale Efrayim an additional 1,206 as of 2015.

[12][13] The Jordan Valley is part of the Levantine corridor and constitutes a route for animal migration, including in the past for the developing human species.

Significant bird populations for which the IBAs were designated, including resident, wintering and passage migrant species, comprise the following: black francolins, marbled teals, black and white storks, black-crowned night herons, cattle and little egrets, collared and black-winged pratincoles, Egyptian vultures, European honey-buzzards, Levant sparrowhawks and Dead Sea sparrows.

In February 1918, as part of the wider Sinai and Palestine Campaign the British empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force captured Jericho.

Following conflicting promises and agreements during WWI, in particular McMahon–Hussein Correspondence and Balfour Declaration, as well as a power vacuum following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to a series of diplomatic conferences and treaties (Treaty of Sèvres, San Remo conference, Paulet–Newcombe Agreement) which convened with continued armed struggle between the great powers, their proxies, and Arab elements that were part of the Arab Revolt.

[21] Following the Cairo Conference (1921) and meetings with Abdullah bin Hussein it was agreed that he would administer the territory east of the Jordan River, Emirate of Transjordan.

[24] The Battle of Mishmar HaEmek in April 1948 a strategic settlement located on the route to the valley was successfully defended by Jewish forces, and Arab positions surrounding it were captured in a counter-attack.

To prevent Iraqi tanks from attacking Jewish villages in the Jordan Valley, the sluice gates of the Degania dam were opened.

[25] On 20 May 1948, after a failure to reach an agreement with Transjordan's King Abdullah, the southern Jordan valley Beit HaArava and the nearby north Dead sea Kalia were abandoned due to their isolation amidst Arab settlements.

[26] Concurrently, on 14 May Syrian forces began attacking via the Syrian-Mandate border in a series of engagement called Battles of the Kinarot Valley.

The Syrians thrust down the eastern and southern Sea of Galilee shores, and attacked Samakh the neighboring Tegart fort and the settlements of Sha'ar HaGolan, Ein Gev, but they were bogged down by resistance.

where local militia reinforced by elements of the Carmeli Brigade halted Syrian armored forces with Molotov cocktails, hand grenades and a single PIAT.

It was negotiated and developed by US ambassador Eric Johnston between 1953 and 1955, and based on an earlier plan commissioned by United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Modeled upon the Tennessee Valley Authority's engineered development plan, it was approved by technical water committees of all the regional riparian countries—Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The Jordanian East Ghor Main Canal was completed in stages between 1961 and 1966, and likewise diverts a significant amount of water from the Jordan river.

Coupled with Israeli reluctance to cross the 1948 British Mandate border in this sector, American diplomatic pressure, and needs on additional fronts the war ended with the sides opposing one another across the Jordan Valley.

During and following the Six-Day War, many Palestinians, who at the time had Jordanian citizenship, fled the West Bank to Jordan due to choice, fear, and in some cases being forced to do so.

After the Six-Day War in 1967, the PLO and Fatah stepped up their guerrilla attacks against Israel from Jordanian soil, using the Jordan Valley town of Karameh as their headquarters.

However, declassified documents show this was a token participation to preserve King Hussein's status in the Arab world, and that some tacit understandings were made with Israel.

[11] Jericho, and the surrounding area in the southern valley, along with Gaza was the first territory handed over to the Palestinian National Authority, as a result of the Gaza–Jericho Agreement in 1994.

In regard to the West Bank, Annex I (a) provides that "This line is the administrative boundary between Jordan and the territory which came under Israeli military government control in 1967.

"[4] The site of the former Naharayim power plant was dubbed Island of Peace, with Israeli private land ownership and property rights, but Jordanian sovereignty.

[47][48] On 16 March 1997, a few days after the attack, King Hussein of Jordan personally apologized for the incident, traveling to Israel to visit and pay respects to the grieving families of the seven murdered girls during the traditional Jewish mourning ceremony known as shiva.

During the visit, in which King Hussein stood alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he expressed an apology on behalf of the Kingdom of Jordan telling the parents: "a crime that is a shame for all of us.

[12][59] The Bedouin, who erect structures illegally per the Israeli view, have received material aid from the Red Cross,[60][61] the European Union,[62] and the UN OCHA.

[63][64] Some settler groups have claimed that the EU's ambassador is working to "establish a terror state", with housing aid to Bedouin along strategic routes.

In the late 1930s, the kibbutzim in the Jordan Valley formed the Council of the Gush, a regional municipal framework responsible for liaison with the authorities of the British Mandate.

[7] The introduction of portable greenhouses has brought about a sevenfold increase in productivity, allowing Jordan to export large amounts of fruit and vegetables year-round.