Drought creates tension along both banks of the Jordan
Zafrir Rinat; 17/7/08
A thin trickle of murky, polluted water made its way from the Jordan River to the Dead Sea this week, the normally small amount of water further diminished by drought. The situation has made it difficult for farms and towns on the Jordanian and Israeli sides of the river to continue farming or hosting tourists on the Dead Sea’s northern shores. Last week the water crisis almost sparked a diplomatic incident between Israel and Jordan. The Jordanians said Israeli farmers dammed the river beside the Adam Bridge (also called the Damia Bridge) and stopped the flow of water southward so they could irrigate their crops. Senior Defense Ministry officials contacted the Israel Defense Forces, which quickly dispatched earthmoving equipment to clear stones from the river and prove that Israel is not deliberately stopping the river’s flow. The river was cleared under the watchful eyes of a Jordanian military commander, and the Jordan Valley Regional Council denied Jordanian charges that it had dammed the river.
See; http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1002419.html
Tags: Environment, Israel, Jordan