Water resources at stake

Co-operation between Israel and the Palestinians in water issues seems often as scarce a commodity as water. Water has been the subject of a number of disputes between them. The Israelis and the Palestinians each blame the other for the violence that is consuming the region with renewed ferocity. Each side sees itself as the victim. The convoluted conflict is created in part by the arid nature of the disputed lands but also by a dispute about water rights and failing water allocation and demand management. Dwindling water resources are increasingly affected by pollution. In additional agricultural and industrial use and population growth have elevated the strategic importance of water in the region. The interim agreement that Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed in 1995 (Oslo II) includes the most updated understanding on water that has been reached. It is more detailed than previous documents and is seen by many water experts as a turning point from which the responsibility for the water sector was given to the Palestinian Authority. In reality, the agreement did not significantly change the scope of the Israeli control over the water resources. After all the agreement explicitly recognizes the Palestinian water rights in the West Bank. Although it has not spelled out exactly what these rights are, the provision was essential for the Palestinians, who’s rights are being denied during Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Some water experts, not only Israeli, argue that insisting on reallocation of water rights in the region hinders a more practical oriented solution focussing on increasing of water supply to the people in need by utilizing alternative water resources. They refer to the Jordan-Israel-Peace treaty where the question of water rights was solved by using the term “rightful allocation”.