Israel says to negotiate border land lease extension with Jordan

Israel will negotiate with Jordan an extension of a 25-year Israeli lease of border land under a 1994 peace treaty, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.

Netanyahu, in public remarks, said Jordan wants to implement its option to end the lease, and Israel "will enter negotiations with it on the possibility of extending the current arrangement".

Under an annex to the peace agreement, Israel leased about 1,000 acres (405 hectares) of agricultural land in the southern sector of its border with Jordan, as well as a small area known as the "Island of Peace" near the Sea of Galilee.