Israel has not renewed a 2021 agreement that doubled the volume of fresh water it supplies to Jordan beyond the 50 million cubic metres mandated by their 1994 peace treaty, conditioning any extension on a thaw in diplomatic relations. Jordan’s former water minister, Hazem al-Nasser, told CNN Arabic that the kingdom “will not return” to the additional arrangement, stating that Amman has reprogrammed its water plans to compensate for the loss of the 50 million cubic metres, which he said represented only about 4 percent of the national water budget. The core treaty supply continues, but the additional volume has been frozen since November 2025.

Viewed from Tel Aviv, the additional water is a gesture of goodwill rather than a legal obligation. An Israeli official quoted in Yedioth Ahronoth said that “when you help your neighbours, you expect warmer relations,” linking the suspension to Jordan’s absence of an ambassador in Israel and what Jerusalem describes as hostile rhetoric from Amman. Israeli analyst Ronen Yitzhak told the Jerusalem Post that the timing is damaging because Jordan intercepted Iranian drones and missiles over its airspace during the Iran war, and that the Israeli move is being interpreted in Amman as a “stab in the back” and as “blackmail.” Jordanian government sources, in a statement, insisted that water security is a national priority and that alternative measures—including well rehabilitation, new drilling with the private sector, and use of brackish water—are already being implemented, alongside the long-term National Water Carrier project designed to deliver 300 million cubic metres annually.

The United Arab Emirates has proposed hosting a trilateral meeting of energy ministers from Israel, Jordan and the UAE in Abu Dhabi, according to Israeli media reports. The agenda would include a “Prosperity” agreement under which Israel would build a desalination plant to supply both countries and Jordan would construct a solar power plant to provide electricity, as well as efforts to reduce bilateral tensions. This diplomatic initiative unfolds as the UAE is also reported, by the French daily Le Monde citing satellite imagery and a European security source, to be constructing underground ammunition or fuel storage facilities at Berbera airport in Somaliland, possibly for use by US and Israeli forces. The report, which has not been officially commented on by the UAE, the US, Israel or Somaliland, suggests the facilities could serve as a staging point for operations against Yemen and notes that Israel recognised Somaliland’s independence in December 2025.

The water dispute exposes the fragility of Israeli-Jordanian relations, strained since the Gaza war. While the peace treaty’s baseline water supply remains in effect, the additional 50 million cubic metres per year is suspended, and Jordan—one of the world’s most water-scarce countries—is accelerating its national carrier project, though it will take years to complete. The UAE’s mediation proposal is under discussion, with no date set for a meeting. The broader regional picture, including the reported military infrastructure in Somaliland, underscores the UAE’s expanding role as both a diplomatic broker and a security actor in the Horn of Africa and the Levant.