"The water poverty we have reached is unprecedented and threatens the level and quality of life for our current and future generations," he told a Lower House of Parliament session on Wednesday.
Khasawneh said that the annual per capita share of water in Jordan is about 90 cubic meters, while the global water poverty line is 500 cubic meters annually. He warned that if things don't change, the annual per capita share will drop to 60 cubic meters by 2040.
The prime minister defended the deal with Israel, but said it is still in the early stages.
Parliamentarians continued to squabble over the issue after one said that Israel might poison the water for Jordan.
Representative Najeh Al-Adwan said that Jordan is going through a great water crisis. he defended the agreement with Israel with Quarnic precedents of Muslims buying things from Jews,
Al-Adwan said, “The Muslim woman used to buy from the Jewish market, and Uthman bin Affan bought a well of water from a Jew, and the Prophet acknowledged to the Jews what was in their hands."
Uthman bin Affan was a companion and second cousin of Mohammed. The story of his well, which is still an active well in Saudi Arabia, happens to be about a greedy Jew trying to take advantage of Muslims, and how the Jew was defeated.
In the past, about 1,400 years ago, this well was the only source of sweet water in Madina city and it belonged to a Jew named Rummat Al Giffari who charged Muslims and other inhabitants of the city with the excessive amount if they wish to fetch water. When the Prophet of Allah knew about this incident, he assured great reward for those who will buy the Rummat well and endow it free to the inhabitants of Madina.
On hearing this, Uthman bin Affan offered the Jew to sell him his well but he refused. He again offered him to buy half of the well. The Jew accepted the offer of the clever businessman Uthman thinking that this will help him to get some money and the agreement was settled that both will fetch water from the well but on alternate days.
Uthman, after buying half of the well, opened it for Allah’s sake and offered everyone to fetch water from the well and this cause great loss to the Jew as no one ever bought water from well paying a large amount to the Jew. The people would fetch their two days’ water supply from the well on Uthman day and ignore fetching water on Jew’s day.
Hopelessly he broke down and offered Uthman to buy the other half of the well for 20,000 dirhams because it was left for no use to him. The kind Companion accepted this offer and bought the well from the Jew.
Other parliamentarians rejected Al-Aswan's argument for getting water from a Jew.
One thing is obvious: if they are arguing over Muslim stories about Jews, then the people who don't want to get the water from Israel are antisemites, not merely "anti-Zionists."
(h/t Yoel)
