Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Jordan Crown Prince Hassan have cancelled a meeting today (Tuesday) at Naharayim, where they were to unveil a memorial for the seven Israeli schoolgirls killed by a Jordanian soldier on the site a month and a half ago.
Talks between Jordan and Israel on water issues blew up in the past few days, as Jordanian water officials claimed Israel is not fulfilling commitments concerning the quantity and quality of water to be transferred to Jordan and that Israel has taken hold of foreign aid designated for Jordan for water issues.
In this atmosphere, Prince Hassan announced he did not feel meeting Netanyahu or holding joint ceremonies was appropriate, and cancelled his participation. Netanyahu then also cancelled his own participation in the unveiling ceremony.
Early this morning, the victims’ families announced that no ceremony will be held at the memorial today. The ceremony was to unveil a monument to the girls and inaugurate a "Peace Park" at Naharayim, also in memory of the young victims of the terrorist attack.
Meanwhile, tension in the Palestinian Authority is mounting in anticipation of the meeting between Arafat and Weizmann, this evening at the Erez checkpoint. The meeting may produce a thaw in the deadlock and give rise to various goodwill gestures on the part of the Israeli government.
Both parties are preparing for the forthcoming visit of US special envoy Dennis Ross, who, this week, will finally try to restart the peace process.