palestenian israili water conflict

8/9/2019 Palestenian Israili Water Conflict

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Contents

Introduction.2

Water in westbank3

- Groundwater3

Groundwater basins in the West

Bank...3 Springs...4 Wells..4

- Surface water....5

Jordan river..

..5

Palestinian consumption ofwater.....6

Water-sharingplans..8

Johnston plan..8

OSLO ACCORDS..8

Red Sea - Dead Sea Water ConduitProject....8

Israeli practices against the PalestinianWater.....10

The insulation wall and the watertheft...14

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Major Zionist water projects...14

The international law and the Palestinian

rights..15

Conclusion...16

References17

Introduction:

Water means life and it is a basic source in all human activities. Allancient civilizations flourished only near water sources and then probablycollapsed when the water supply failed.

Water is a finite resource, essential for agriculture, industry andhuman existence. Without water of adequate quantity and quality,sustainable development is impossible. The need for water and watersupply systems are increasing rapidly as a direct result of human

population growth, improved standards of living and industrial expansionas well as escalating need for food in dry climate regions.

One key of peace in the Middle East is to agree on the division of

the shared Water, Israel occupies a lot of Arab water resources, and steallarge quantities of water at a time the Arabs and specifically Palestinianssuffering from a great lack of water.Israel controls most of the water sources in the West Bank and takemeasures against the Palestinians in way such impede the development ofthe Palestinian Water sector.

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Water in west bank

The amount of water that fall on the west bank approximated by 3billion m3 yearly, more than 70% of this water lost in evaporation; 3% is

surface water and 27% is ground water.The main reason behind the water crisis in the West Bank is unfairdivision of shared water resources between the West Bank and Israel.Mountain basins are the only source of groundwater in Palestine;However Israel is stealing water from these basins, Palestinians consume120 millions m3 whereas the Israeli consume 490 millions m3 yearly.

Water resources in the west bank are divided into ground and surfacewater

Ground water

I. Groundwater basins in the West Bank:

The north-eastern basin:1- nablus, jenin and gelbon basin:

It is Located on an area of 500 km2, about 140 millions m3 areannually pumped from it, and the annual nutrition is estimated to 90

million m3.2- Te'ennek and gelbon basin:

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It is include Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Hebron; but its waterconsumed by Israeli settlements.

Eastern basin:

This basin extends over the highlands at an altitude of 900-400m in

the Jordan Valley, This is a small water recharge basin since it occurs inlow rainfall areas; its annual recharge about 125 million m3.

Western basin:

1- Aloja -Altemsah basin:

Provides 20% of the Palestinian water needs, 400 millions m3 arepumped yearly while its annual nutrition about 360 millions m3.

2- Hebron Beersheba basin:20 millions m3 are pumped yearly while its annual nutrition about

18 millions m3.

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Figure 1: Groundwater basins in the West Bank

II. Springs:

In the west bank there is about 300 springs which vary in the waterquantity and freshness, springs supply us with 50 million m3, 5 millionm3 consumed for drinking and the rest in agriculture.

III. Wells:

Supply the Palestinians with 70 million m3 yearly from more than 300wells, this quantity is not enough so we have to buy water from Israel.

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Surface water

The main sources of surface water in Palestine are Tabarya Lakewhich is occupied in 1948,the Jordan valley and the dead see; all of

these sources are under the Israeli domination and it is not allowable toPalestinians to use it.

Jordan River:

Jordan River is the most important source of surface water in theregion, it passes through five countries: Lebanon, Syria, Jordan,Palestine and "Israel".

The Jordan Rivers three headwaters are the Hasbani River, the DanRiver, and the Banias River, which is part of the Hasbani River flow in

Lebanon. The latter, which has an average flow of 140 mcm/yr, was, untilJune 2000, incorporated into the occupied Israeli security zone inSouthern Lebanon. The Dan and Banias rivers originate in the GolanHeights and flow into the Jordan River above Lake Tabariyya, with anaverage annual flow of 250 and 150 mcm/yr respectively. These rivers

join to form the Upper Jordan River. After leaving Lake Tabariyya, theLower Jordan River forms the boundary between Israel and Jordan andthen between the West Bank and Jordan, before flowing into the DeadSea, which is fed by groundwater and by the Yarmouk River (average

flow of 420 mcm/yr). There are thus five parties sharing the JordanRiver: Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Syria and Palestine.

Israel draws water from the north-western portion of Lake Tabariyyaand transports it out of the Jordan River Basin through its National WaterCarrier to coastal cities and the Negev Desert. The amount of waterextracted allows very little water to flow naturally out of Lake Tabariyya.This means that only a trickle passes along the West Bank in the bed ofthe Lower Jordan River. In addition, Israel has denied Palestinians accessto the entire Lower Jordan River since 1967. After the start of Israels

military occupation in 1967, Israel declared West Bank land adjacent tothe Jordan River a closed military zone, to which only Israeli settlersand soldiers have access.

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Figure 2: Jordan River Water

Palestinian consumption of water:

The average Palestinian per capita consumption of water is 66 litersper day which is about two thirds of the amount recommended by theWorld Health Organization; and this quantity includes water used for theneeds of plants and animals, on the other hand The average Israeli percapita consumption reaches up to 235 liters which equal 4 times thePalestinian consumption in cities and 10 times in settlements.

That the West Bank is threatened by a large lack in water due toIsraeli behavior, 460 thousand of the settlers are draining 140 millionliters of water in the West bank, the Israeli government destroyed morethan 455 wells and about 1880 Water Reservoir in the last 7 years.

Table 1: comparison in water consumption between Palestinians and settlers

Population

million

Consumed water

daily (million leter)

West bank 2.4 160

settlement 0.5 142

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Figure 3: water resources in west bank and Gaze strip (2004 2007)

Figure 4: Water quantity bought from Israel (2003 2007)

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Water-sharing plans:

Western countries suggest agreements and plans for the division ofwater between Arab countries and Israel, some of these plans are:

Johnston plan:

Suggested in 1950s to divide the Jordan River water between Israeland other Arab countries

Table 2: Water devision according to Johnston plan

Country Suggested quantity

(Million m3)

Real waterconsumption (Million

m3)

Jordan 720 220

Syria 132 200

Lebanon 35 20

"Israel" 400 650

Palestine 320 0

OSLO ACCORDS:

This agreement signed in 1993 and according to it; Palestinians get13.5% from the total ground water basin which is approximated by 100million m3

Under the Oslo Accords Israel recognizes the Palestinian waterrights in the West Bank. These will be negotiated in the permanent statusnegotiations and settled in the Permanent Status Agreement relating tothe various water resources.

Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conduit Project :

In 2005, the governments of the three countries surrounding theDead Sea Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories agreed on a

way to halt the seas decline. The proposed solution entails building a110 mile canal and tunnel system to transfer water from the Red Sea tothe Dead Sea. The three parties asked the World Bank to oversee theimplementation of a feasibility study and environmental and socialassessment for the project in accordance with the Banks policies andguidelines.

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Figure 5: Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conduit Project

The proposed Red-Dead sea canal route

Restoring the water level in the Dead Sea is not the projects onlyobjective. Project proponents aim to utilize the transfer of water from theRed Sea, which is at an altitude 400 meters above that of the Dead Sea,to generate hydroelectric power. Perhaps of even higher priority is theuse of the project to boost water supplies to the riparian countries. Thetransferred water will undergo a desalination process on its way from the

Red Sea in order to extract drinking water for use by populations inJordan, Israel and Palestine.

The deposit of the residual concentrated salt water (or "brine") in theDead Sea raises concerns about potential damage to the seas chemicalcomposition and biology.

The feasibility study for the project is expected to take about 2 yearsand will cost $15.5 million. The study is to be financed through a multi-

donor trust fund, and the project itself could cost as much as $5 billionand take up to 20 years to complete.

Measures of development of the Palestinian Authority:

The Palestinian authority established the water authority in 1996 torestructure the water sector and water resources management.

The Water Authority has worked since its inception to establish projectsto develop water resources; Authority has drilled several wells andmaintains other wells and water pumping stations, although Israel

prohibits Palestinians drilling of new wells.

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Israeli practices against the Palestinian Water

Before the Israeli occupation in 1948 the average per capita water

consumption was similar to both Palestinians and Jews, but after theoccupation Israel put obstacles to stop the development of thePalestinian water sector and big gap in the water consumption appeared

between the Palestinians and Israelis for Israelis.In 1964; Israel has begun to use the waters of the Jordan River

without concern for the rights of other countries that participating in theriver and it transformed the Jordan River through the national watercarrier, and started the transfer of 450 million m3 of water to the Negevdesert. In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the

Golan Heights and took control on the water in the lower part of theJordan River and destroyed the water pumps and agricultural land in theJordan Valley. In 1978, Israel occupied southern Lebanon and tookcontrol of the water sources feeding the Jordan River.

Israel has built settlements above the water basins to control itand pumped large quantities of water, these settlements contaminatingPalestinian water sources, Israeli occupation Prevent the development ofthe water network and maintenance of water networks and sewagenetworks; which led to the mixing of contaminated water with clean

water And increase the amount of lost water in the networks.

According to a report by the Central Statistics Palestinian territoriesthat consume 270 million in the West Bank and 120 million in the GazaStrip; while Palestinians need 400 million m3 and the Palestinians needto water increases with increasing the number of population andeconomic development.

According the World Health Organization the per capita share ofwater must be not less than 100 liters per day while the Palestinian percapita get 30 50 liters per day and the Israeli per capita get 150 to 200

liters per day in cities and more than 300 liters in settlements.

An Amnesty International report paints a picture of many Palestinianfamilies struggling - and often failing - to secure enough water fordrinking, cleaning, and agriculture while Israelis, including residents ofJewish settlements in the West Bank, have all they need for lush,irrigated farmland, swimming pools and gardens.

Amnesty also suggests that taxpayers in countries who donate aid to

the Palestinians are facing unnecessarily high costs to meet severe watershortages because their governments are unwilling to challenge "the

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most unreasonable" restrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinian accessto the regionally scarce resource.

It claims the 450,000 settlers who have taken up residence in the

West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Six-Day War in 1967 consumeas much as or more than the 2.3 million Palestinians living in the WestBank. It says the overall Palestinian per capita consumption of 70 liters

per day compares with the WHO recommended level of 100 liters andIsraeli consumption of 300.

Between 180,000 and 200,000 Palestinians living in ruralcommunities - especially in the Israeli controlled "Area C" whichcomprises 60 per cent of the West Bank - have no access to runningwater. According to Amnesty, the Israeli military "often" prevents themfrom accessing rainwater - for example by destroying water-harvestingcisterns or even confiscating water tankers.

At the same time all ministries highlight the unequal distribution ofwater from the mountain aquifer which is the principal groundwaterresource for both communities, most of which is located in the WestBank, and from which Israel draws 80 per cent. It also points out thatusing water for Israel's supplies from the River Jordan - as Jordan does,and Syria and Lebanon do further upstream - before the river reaches the

West Bank, deprives Palestinians of any access to the river's water.

The report is critical of past mismanagement by the PalestinianWater Authority and says the international donors sometimes lackcoordination in funding water-related projects in the occupied territories.But the bulk of the report blames Israeli restrictions and repeatedrefusals to grant permits for wells and other installations.

It is expected as an outlook that the consumption need for Palestinians tobe:

Table 3: Expected Water Consumption in Future

Year Expected need (million m3)

2011 490

2020 670

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Palestinians wants the international law as a starting point fornegotiations and they want to define their water rights according to its

protocols, they are demanding a full sovereignty over water resources inthe Palestinian state, on the other hand Israelis refuse negotiations based

on international law, claiming that it was not clear and notcommensurate with the Palestinian-Israeli situation because Palestine isnot a state. Israelis see the Palestinian water rights are the right to usequantities of water and not sovereignty over water sources, and theywant the negotiations to be based on Palestinian acceptance of theexisting use of water and they want the Palestinians to go to alternativessuch as desalination and water re-use refined.

Israelis know that their position on the Palestinian water rightscontrary to international law and they must recognize that they are

occupation force, That international law does not recognize the Israelimeasures on Palestinian water sources and they dont have mandateover the Palestinian water resources management.

Since the Israeli occupation in 1967, Israel has built settlements overthe water-rich regions, and issued a number of military decisions thatmake the Palestinian water under full Israeli control and some of thesedecisions:

All the water in the territories occupied by Israel are theproperty of the State of Israel

Given the power to control all matters related to water to thewater officer who is choosed by the Israeli army.

Prevent Palestinians from building any water structure withoutobtaining a license and the water officer has the right to refuseto give a license without giving the reasons.

The status of all wells and springs and water projects under thedirect authority of the military ruler.

Israel has practices against the Palestinians, including:

The confiscation of some wells for the settlements and the wall ofracial segregation. Prevention of drilling new wells by preventing giving permits forthe drilling of these wells Determine the depth of wells, which affects the amount of watercan be pumped from these wells Deprive Palestinians of their historic rights of water in the JordanRiver. The high price of water distributed by the Israeli companyMekorot of the Palestinian territories.

Water pollution resulted from wastewater of the settlements.

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Destroying many of the wells during Al aqsa intifada. The maximum allowable pumped water less than 100 m3/hr .

Building small dams for impounding the waters of the wadis and

the denial Palestinian from water access to their lands. transportation of stolen Palestinians water through thesettlements into Israeli cities Israel seizes 85% of the water of aquifers,which is close to 600 million m3 and consume more than a billion cubicmeters of water from the Jordan River, Israel captured all water sourcesin the Golan and Mount Hermon, where the main sources of the JordanRiver.

Mir Ben-Meir the President of the Israeli delegation to the High JointCommittee for Water said that Palestinians can not get additional

quantities of water; and asked Palestinians to search for other sources ofwater like depending on desalination of sea water or Purchase waterfrom Israel, These statements reflect the Israeli position of the waterwhich base on:

Using force to pressure in the negotiations. Focus on regional projects like Red Sea - Dead Sea WaterConduit Project, Desalination of sea water and importing water.

Destruction of many of the wells and pumps in the JordanValley under the pretext of security issues.

Contamination water of the Jordan River and the theft oflarge quantities of its water.

In addition to the theft of Palestinian water, the Israelis are causingpollution of drinking water and destroying the environment and preventthe eco-development projects, Also refused to give licenses to set upwater projects, This caused a large decrease in drinking water in the cityof Nablus Reached 38%, and it prevented the crews of municipalmaintenance of networks and pumping stations.

The Israeli human rights (baitsailim) Warned from the large gap in

the water next summer in the West Bank and its great impact on theeconomic situation and health of Palestinians, and they said that the realcause of this decrease is the discrimination policy that Israel follow inthe distribution of shared water in the West Bank and because of therestrictions imposed by Israel on Palestinians in drilling wells; and the

problem is aggravated with passing time

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The insulation wall and the water theft

In June 2002 Israel began building the insulation wall in the WestBank to prevent Palestinian attacks as it claims, this wall lead to the

destruction and the isolation of more than 150 wells in additional tomany springs.

The isolated areas because of the wall located above the west andnorth-east basins with discharge capacity of 500 million m3 yearly, Thenumber of groundwater wells in these areas is estimated at 165 wells

pumping 33 million m3 per year, and The number of springs 53 springspumping 22 million m3 per year .

The extracted Water from the lands isolated behind the wall Used

for human consumption and industrial, agricultural and tourism, and thismeans that Israel is stealing large amounts of the Palestinian water inway that threatening the lives of Palestinians, and the wall cuts off allinland rivers in the Jordan Valley

Major Zionist water projects:

gelgal water project: one of the most water project that Israel built

to irrigate settlements and its Farms by connecting pipes to the Jordanvalley

Im Ktirit project:Aims to use the waters of the Yarmouk River inwinter by pumping 25 million m3 of water from the river into LakeTiberias.

Bethlehem project: Drilling a huge well with a depth of up to 1000m in south east of Bethlehem and its pump 12-17 million m3 into Israel.

Alzawia project: building a wall behind alzawia village in nabluswith production capacity up to 100 m3/hr to supply the Nearbysettlements

Batn Al goul project: contain 3 wells with production capacity upto 800 m3/hr to supply 5 settlements and army camp in Bethlehem

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The international law and the Palestinian rights

Israelis based on the principle of priority of use when talking about

international law and thus justify the sharp disparity between thePalestinian and Israeli consumption of water.

In fact, international law, especially the rules of Helsinki, which tookthe principle of precedence as a factor used in the division ofinternational shared water, did not support the Israeli allegations, Thecurrent use of water is one of the seven factors in addition to thegeographical factors, the environment, climate in addition to social andeconomic needs and the availability of water sources.

The non navigational use of international water course points out thatthe current use one of the factors that take in care in the equitabledivision of shared water resources and the Israeli current use is productof illegal acts, and one of the fundamental principles of internationallaw that cannot be created benefit from an illegal act.

Palestinian negotiator calls to the definition of Palestinian waterrights as the rights in water sources for national and shared water and theJordan River as the only way to reach to a peace agreement betweenPalestinians and Israelis.

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Conclusion

As we note the Palestinian water sources is limited and the waterneeds increase with the population increase and industrial development,Israel dont have the right to take over the Palestinian water at the timePalestinians dont find drinking water.

This report may contain contrariety numbers and statistics and that isbecause the source of these numbers, at the time Israeli statistics tries toshow that the gap between the Palestinian Israeli water consumption issmall; all the Palestinian and international committees statistic showthat there is big gap between the Palestinian and Israelis consumption.

Settlements was built on occupied land and it is not legal according tointernational law and so it must removed so; the Israeli try to steal themaximum amount of water through it, and by these settlements theIsraeli contaminate the Palestinian water.

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References:

Sustainable Development and Management of Water

in Palestine, Amjad Eliewi, Karen Assaf, Anan Jayyousi,2007

Geography of Palestine, Birzeit University, 2008

http://www.google.ps/search?hl=ar&q=palestinian+and+israeli+water+conflict+pdf&lr=&aq=f&oq=.

http://mideastnews.com/WaterWars.htm

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