Israeli Energy Minister Karin Elharar criticized Oct. 17 the attack last week by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the new water deal signed between Israel and Jordan. Interviewed by the army radio station, Elharar accused Netanyahu of attempting to damage relations between the two countries. “The leader of the opposition is creating fake news and claiming that we are giving the water for free, which didn’t happen. There are no free gifts, but relations that need to be developed. This is a strategic asset to Israel,” noted Elharar.
Two days before the interview with Elharar, a senior official at the Israeli Foreign Ministry addressed the same issue. Head of the Jordan-Syria-Lebanon department at the Foreign Ministry Liron Zaslansky wrote on Twitter, “We do not give Jordan water for free. The Jordanians pay full price for it. Stability and peace are strategic interests of Israel."
