Diplomacy on the Jordan : International Conflict and Negotiated Resolution

The Jordan River has attracted the attention of people around the world. The natives call it "the Shari'a," or the Code [of God.] The religious importance of the river is known to mankind. Travelers and explorers sailed down its course from north to south. All have noted that its waters are turbulent, its path windy, and its meandering course steep. Old civilizations flourished in the Jordan River basin. The territories surrounding it were known to have been ruled by the same political authority for centuries. Riparian States came to exist in its basin only after the First World War, when Britain and France shared the spoils of the eclipsed Ottoman Empire. Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine were created as separate political entities and became riparian parties on the Jordan. Palestine became the target of the Zionist Movement for the establishment of a national home for the Jews. They were supported by Britain, who issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917 pledging support for their objective. The Jewish State, Israel, was established in part of Palestine in 1948, and became another riparian party on the Jordan River. "The Jordan River waters are essential for the development and well being of the people of its basin. Plans for the development of its water resources were considered since the beginning of the twentieth century and have long been central to disputes between riparian nations.". "This volume reviews the roots of conflict over the Jordan between Arabs and Jews and the development of that conflict over the past 150 years. It analyzes the positions of Arabs and Israelis and the role of the United States in promoting a settlement. The work then presents the development of a negotiated resolution of that part of the conflict related to Jordan and Israel through the Middle East Peace Process.". "This book approaches the Jordanian-Israeli water affairs in the Jordan River Basin with a wide interdisciplinary perspective. It unfolds the full history of the dispute and negotiation process, beginning in the 1950s and ending with the water accord in 1974."--BOOK JACKET. Front Matter....Pages i-xxi Plans for the Jordan River Basin....Pages 1-39 Resorting to Diplomacy....Pages 41-66 Attempts at Reconciliation — Johnston’s Shuttle Diplomacy....Pages 67-126 Preventive Diplomacy....Pages 127-163 Spinning Out of Control....Pages 165-208 Water for the Jordan Valley....Pages 209-235 The Sand Bar....Pages 237-281 The Middle East Peace Process....Pages 283-314 The Common Agenda....Pages 315-329 The Process Continues....Pages 331-376 The Peace Treaty....Pages 377-410 The Challenge of Implementation....Pages 411-444 Back Matter....Pages 445-535