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Israel pays price for refusing peace talks

On the backdrop of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's refusal to launch negotiations with the Palestinians, it is no wonder that Jordan decided not to renew Israel’s lease on lands near the border.
Jordan's King Abdullah (L) walks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before their meeting at the Royal Palace in Amman January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Jordanian Royal Palace/Yousef Allan/Handout via Reuters (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - GM1EA1G1K2N01
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The day after Israel signed the Oslo Accord with the Palestinians, the Jordanians rushed to sign in Washington the Israeli-Jordanian Common Agenda on Sept. 14, 1993. The Oslo process had caught the Jordanians by surprise: They were taken aback and wanted to guarantee their place in the new arrangements that were emerging in the region.

The common agenda became the starting point for peace negotiations between the two states; these negotiations ended a few months later in King Hussein’s palace. Then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Jordanian king held their discussions in the palace for many long hours into the night. The two heads of state came to arrangements regarding all the points that had remained, until then, in dispute. The peace treaty was signed on Oct. 26, 1994.

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