The Jordanian Constitutional Court has decided that a natural gas deal between Israel and Jordan could not be legally canceled, as this would be "completely inconsistent" with obligations stipulated in the peace agreement between the two countries, Report says citing Israeli media.
The court stressed that, according to Jordan's constitution, only the king could declare war or ratify treaties and agreements. International agreements that were ratified are binding on the state as long as they are in force, and a law cannot be issued amending or repealing such contracts.
The decision was made in response to a question by the Jordanian government concerning a legislative proposal to cancel the natural gas deal with Israel.
Jordan's National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) signed a 15-year agreement with Noble Energy to purchase $10 billion worth of natural gas in September 2016. The Constitutional Court in Jordan had ruled that the deal doesn't need to be approved by the Jordanian parliament.
In December, Jordanian citizens and politicians protested the planned transfer of gas between the two nations, as experimental supplies of natural gas were pumped from Israel's Leviathan gas field to Jordan by the Noble Energy Company.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz discussed the start of the gas flow to Jordan with Ynet news, saying that "with this, Israel is becoming an energy exporter for the first time in its history."
Two electrical transformers servicing a gas transfer station intended to transport gas from the Leviathan field into Jordan were torched by unidentified people in Irbid, northern Jordan, in December.