Middle East Monitor / February 7, 2020
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is seeking to replace Israeli agricultural products in the local market with Jordanian goods, agriculture minister, Riyad Al-Atari, announced yesterday.
Speaking in a meeting with Jordanian counterpart Ibrahim Al-Shehadeh in Ramallah, Al-Atari discussed the close trade ties between the two countries. The meeting came as part of a regular gathering for the Palestinian-Jordanian Agriculture Technical Committee.
“Minister Al-Shehadeh’s visit confirms Jordan’s firm and supportive stance towards the Palestinian issue,” Al-Atari explained, pointing out that the joint committee will discuss the various ways to enhance cooperation in the agricultural fields between Jordan and Palestine.
Al-Shehadeh stressed that his ministry was: “Ready to fully cooperate with its Palestinian counterparts in the fields of knowledge exchange in the agricultural research, as well as the introduction of Jordanian agricultural products to the Palestinian market, and vice versa.”
“The ministry will exert every effort to ensure successful meetings for the joint committee,” Al-Shehadeh emphasised.
The PA’s move comes amid recent escalations following the announcement of the US peace deal in the Middle East, known as the “deal of the century”. The deal was announced last week by US President Donald Trump at a press conference in Washington, in the presence of Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with no Palestinian presence.
The deal was rejected by the UN, on the basis that it did not conform to UN guidelines and was imposing Trump’s own vision of a two-state solution. The deal was also rejected by all Palestinian parties.