The Jordanian parliament voted in favor of repealing an agreement on Sunday to import natural gas from Israel following protests in the country's capital city of Amman.
'The majority has voted to send the urgent motion to the government' requesting a law banning Israeli gas imports to Jordan, said Speaker of the House of Representatives Atef Tarawneh during the live session by state television network on Sunday.
The motion was sent to the government for approval, and must be sent back to the legislature for a formal vote at the upper house of the parliament.
The Jordanian government said the original agreement would ensure stable energy prices and cut $600 million a year from the state's energy bill.
The repeal move came after protests by hundreds of Jordanians on Friday in downtown Amman who called on the government to cancel the $10 billion deal that would allow Israel to pump natural gas to the Kingdom commencing in January 2020.
Jordan's National Electric Power Company signed the deal with U.S.-based Noble Energy and Israeli partners in order to tap the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel for the supply of approximately 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas over a 15-year term.
By Busranur Begcecanli
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr