Mid-East Realitieswww.middleeast.org

WATER WARS

May 24, 2001

MID-EAST REALITIES © - www.MiddleEast.Org - Washington - 5/24: In the end its not really the "settlements" that will determine which civilization will prosper in the once Holy Land now so fought over by the descendants of Abraham. Control and use of WATER is even more at the heart of the conflict between the two competing societies.

Just as with oil, the Arab states have had the power for a long time to make things much more difficult for the Israelis; and maybe even to have changed history forcing the Israelis to join the Middle East rather than insist on being a beachhead for Western colonialism. But such weak and co-opted states have not been able to leverage this potential power either. And now the Israelis are actually turning to a largely Muslim state, Turkey, to start importing water by ship.

ISRAEL FACES WATER CRISIS

ISRAEL'S WATER SUPPLIES ARE TOO LOW TO MEET DEMAND

By Paul Wood in Jerusalem

[BBC News, 23 May]:

Israel is being warned that the country's water supplies are dangerouslylow, and it will have to accept drastic cuts in consumption.

As fresh water supplies diminish, polluted water from pools deeperunderground is drawn upwards, making the reserves undrinkable

Israeli Water Commissioner Shimon Tal is expected to call for a total banon watering lawns for the next three years and for a 10% cut in the supplyto industry.

But the issue is politically charged and linked to the wider dispute overPalestinian statehood.

In the West Bank and Gaza, Palestinians run local government but Israelstill controls most of the water resources.

Accusations

The Palestinians accuse Israel of diverting water away from their towns tokeep Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories fully supplied.

Dispute over water resources has been a fact of life in the West Banksince the land was occupied by Israel in 1967

They say they have to watch Jewish settlers hosing down lawns and fillingswimming pools while in some Palestinian areas, people have to manage onless than half the daily minimum for health and sanitation laid down bythe World Health Authority.

Israel traditionally denies it is responsible for such dire shortages,saying Palestinian farmers are to blame for using illegal connections toirrigate their fields.

But there is no doubt that subterranean water reserves are steadilyshrinking as the demands of two fast-growing societies outpace naturalreplenishment by rivers and rainfall.

Desalination

And as fresh water supplies diminish, polluted water from pools deeperunderground is drawn upwards, making the reserves undrinkable.

The only real solution, experts agree, is to create more fresh water.

Water is a contentious issue in the Middle East
For the long term, Israel says that countries throughout the region couldfind plentiful supplies through water desalination - a solution whichwould benefit Gaza which could expect to be close to one of the proposednew desalination plants.

And as a short term emergency measure, Israel might import water fromTurkey using specially converted oil tanker ships - although this isworrying to Arab countries already alarmed at the close military tiesdeveloping between Turkey and Israel.

Dispute over water resources has been a fact of life in the West Banksince the land was occupied by Israel in 1967.

The Palestinians say that Israel will try to keep hold of the reservesbeneath the bedrock there - it is just another of the complex problemsstill to be solved in any final peace agreement.
Mid-East Realitieswww.middleeast.org

Source: http://www.middleeast.org/articles/2001/5/219.htm