Jordanian Official Denies Breathing Oxygen Produced By Israeli Trees (PreOccupied Territory)

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Amman, Jordan, September 10 - A Jordanian government minister has found himself under fire for allegedly breathing oxygen made by trees in Israel, a charge the official denies.

News reports yesterday mentioned Minister of Agriculture Ayyam Aprik in connection with the inhalation of Israel-produced gases necessary for cellular respiration and other metabolic processes, an accusation fraught with political implications in the wake of a bloody conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. A majority of the population of Jordan, ruled by the Hashemite house, is Palestinian, and the violence that left approximately 2,000 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip last month has forced every official engaged in normal interaction with Israel onto the defensive.

"The baseless accusations that I am breathing Zionist oxygen are simply an effort to defame me and hobble the government's efforts to address important issues," said Aprik. "I myself am the child of Palestinian refugees. These false accusations sting." He suggested political rivals were behind the smear.

Oxygen is produced in certain plant cells when the energy from sunlight is used to transform carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and the sugar glucose. Israel has engaged in a more or less constant effort to plant trees throughout its territory, continuing an effort by Jewish pioneers that became ingrained into the culture years before the establishment of the state itself in 1948. As a result, Israel is the only country in the Middle East with more trees now than seventy years ago, giving it an edge in oxygen production. The precious resource carries even more importance in a region covered mostly by desert, compounded by the sensitive politics of Palestinian-Jordanian-Israeli relations.

King Abdullah himself has called the accusations "ridiculous," challenging the minister's anonymous accusers to produce evidence that any of the oxygen Aprik has ever breathed was knowingly obtained from an Israeli source. "My ministers are patriotic Arabs, and no one shall impugn their pro-Palestinian bona fides."

The possible scandal comes hot on the heels of a controversial Jordanian agreement to buy gas from a field in Israeli territorial waters. In that case, Jordanian officials have deflected the accusations of "normal" commercial relations with Israel by claiming that the gas is actually being sold by the American company that is a partner in the Mediterranean gas grilling venture with Israel's Delek Energy. In official accounts of the deal, the source of the gas is described as "the Eastern Mediterranean" and no mention is made of the Israeli company.