The treaty was signed on October 26, 1994, at a desert crossing on the Arabah border, with the two prime ministers and King Hussein present and President Clinton looking on. It ended the legal state of war between the two countries that had stood since the founding of Israel in 1948. The guns fell silent at last.
The road was long. Jordan had fought Israel in 1948 and 1967, and it kept a cold peace after Egypt broke ranks in 1979, and the 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians gave Hussein cover to move while he sought to recover land and water rights lost in the war of 1967. The talks were quiet.
The deal gave Jordan real gains. It won back small strips of land, secured shared use of the Jordan River and the Arava aquifers, and opened borders to trade and tourists. Both sides pledged to stop terror and to work for regional peace. The signing drew crowds on both banks. Farmers on both sides gained from the calm that followed the pen.
The peace held, unlike the hope that came with it. Relations stayed correct but cool, and the wider Arab-Israeli conflict dragged on. Still, the 1994 treaty stands as one of the few settled lines on a contested map. Jordan kept its word. The border stays open to this day, a rare steady line in the region.