Israel and Jordan Make Peace: The Treaty Signed on October 26, 1994
Period
Middle East peace process, 1994
Place
Arava / Wadi Araba border crossing, Israel–Jordan
On October 26, 1994, Israeli and Jordanian leaders signed a landmark peace treaty at the Arava border, with King Hussein and Bill Clinton present. Nine archival images follow the moment.
The border crossing in the Arava desert had been built to separate two countries that had never signed a peace agreement. On October 26, 1994, it became the setting for one. As officials took their places beneath the flags of Israel, Jordan and the United States, King Hussein and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin publicly acknowledged a change that had taken decades to negotiate.
The treaty was signed by Rabin and Jordanian Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali. King Hussein and President Bill Clinton stood among the witnesses. It formally ended the state of war between Israel and Jordan, established diplomatic relations, and set out commitments on borders, security and shared water resources. It followed the Washington Declaration of July 1994, when Hussein and Rabin had already announced their intention to make peace.
The ceremonies had a carefully staged grandeur: national leaders exchanging greetings, diplomats clustered around a signing table, handshakes before the cameras, and balloons rising over the desert. But the photographs also record concrete diplomatic work. The signatures applied that afternoon changed how two neighboring states would deal with one another, from embassies to border crossings and trade.
Peace between governments was never the same thing as a settlement of every regional dispute. The Israeli–Palestinian conflict remained unresolved, and the new relationship would be tested repeatedly. That distinction matters when looking back at the jubilant faces in these photographs.
This gallery follows the day through authentic ceremony photographs, an image of the leaders' earlier consultations and the English text of the agreement. The captions identify when an image documents the signing itself and when it provides background. The original treaty is preserved in the United Nations Treaty Series.
Topic: Israel–Jordan Peace Treaty; King Hussein; Yitzhak Rabin; Bill Clinton
01 / 09
Clinton, Hussein and Rabin discuss the treaty text
Before the signing in the Arava desert, President Bill Clinton congratulated King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on agreement over the treaty text. This presidential-library photograph records the diplomacy that made the public ceremony possible. It is background from 1994, not a photograph of the signing itself.
Photo details
Date
1994; before the October 26 signing
Location
Aboard U.S. presidential aircraft
Photographer
White House / William J. Clinton Presidential Library
White House / William J. Clinton Presidential Library / William J. Clinton Presidential Library / Wikimedia Commons
02 / 09
Rabin and King Hussein arrive at the border crossing
On October 26, 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein greet one another at the Arava border terminal. For most of their countries’ modern history, this frontier had been a military divide. Their meeting helped turn a diplomatic agreement into a visible public event.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994
Location
Arava border terminal, Israel–Jordan
Photographer
Government Press Office of Israel
Archive / collection
Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection
Government Press Office of Israel / Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection / Wikimedia Commons
03 / 09
The leaders assemble for the peace ceremony
King Hussein, President Bill Clinton and senior Israeli and Jordanian leaders gather for the signing ceremony. The stage and national flags were designed for television cameras, but the subject was specific: the end of the formal state of war between Israel and Jordan and a framework for normal relations.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994
Location
Arava border crossing, Israel–Jordan
Photographer
Yaakov Saar / Government Press Office of Israel
Archive / collection
Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection
Yaakov Saar / Government Press Office of Israel / Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection / Wikimedia Commons
04 / 09
The treaty is signed by the two prime ministers
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordanian Prime Minister Abdelsalam al-Majali sign the peace treaty as President Bill Clinton witnesses the ceremony. Accounts often focus on the handshake between Hussein and Rabin, but the signatures of the two prime ministers were the formal act of agreement.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994
Location
Arava border crossing, Israel–Jordan
Photographer
Government Press Office of Israel
Archive / collection
Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection
Government Press Office of Israel / Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection / Wikimedia Commons
05 / 09
Clinton between Rabin and Hussein
Bill Clinton appears beside Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein on the treaty-signing day. The president’s presence reflected Washington’s years of mediation and the importance both governments attached to U.S. participation. This photograph captures the three men whose faces came to symbolize the October 1994 breakthrough.
United States government photographer / United States government / Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
06 / 09
The treaty ceremony in the Arava desert
Clinton, Rabin and Hussein stand at the public ceremony marking the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan. This is the central scene of October 26: after decades without formal peace, the two neighboring states accepted a treaty covering borders, security, diplomatic ties and shared water resources. The photograph was made by Gideon Markowicz.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994
Location
Arava border crossing, Israel–Jordan
Photographer
Gideon Markowicz
Archive / collection
Israel National Library / IPPA photographic collection
Gideon Markowicz / Israel National Library / IPPA photographic collection / Wikimedia Commons
07 / 09
Rabin and Hussein exchange a handshake
Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein shake hands after the treaty signing. The gesture was simple and intensely symbolic: the leaders represented countries whose forces had fought in previous Arab–Israeli wars. The photograph became one of the memorable images of a diplomatic opening that did not resolve every regional conflict.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994
Location
Arava border crossing, Israel–Jordan
Photographer
Government Press Office of Israel
Archive / collection
Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection
Government Press Office of Israel / Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection / Wikimedia Commons
08 / 09
Balloons rise at the end of the ceremony
Balloons are released above the Arava desert during the treaty ceremony. The celebratory scene captured the hope surrounding formal peace between Israel and Jordan. Its symbolism should be viewed beside the treaty’s less photogenic terms—security procedures, water agreements, border arrangements and diplomatic recognition.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994
Location
Arava border crossing, Israel–Jordan
Photographer
Government Press Office of Israel
Archive / collection
Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection
Government Press Office of Israel / Israeli Government Press Office photographic collection / Wikimedia Commons
09 / 09
The Israel–Jordan Peace Treaty: English text
The opening page of the English-language peace treaty records the legal agreement signed on October 26, 1994. The document, later deposited with the United Nations, provides the evidence behind the public images: the undertakings by the two states to establish peace and settle specific bilateral issues. This is a scanned document, not a camera photograph of the ceremony.
Photo details
Date
October 26, 1994 (treaty); archival scan
Location
Arava, Israel–Jordan; United Nations Treaty Series
Photographer
Governments of Israel and Jordan; United Nations archive
Archive / collection
United Nations Treaty Collection / Wikimedia Commons
