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The Truth Behind the Palestinian Water Libels
The Truth Behind the Palestinian Water Libels
by Prof. Haim Gvirtzman
February 24, 2014
BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 238
http://besacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/perspectives238.pdf
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Water shortages in the Palestinian Authority are the =
result of Palestinian policies that deliberately waste water and destroy th=
e =
regional water ecology. The Palestinians refuse to develop their own =
significant underground water resources, build a seawater desalination =
plant, fix massive leakage from their municipal water pipes, build sewage =
treatment plants, irrigate land with treated sewage effluents or modern =
water-saving devices, or bill their own citizens for consumer water usage, =
leading to enormous waste. At the same time, they drill illegally into =
Israel=92s water resources, and send their sewage flowing into the valleys =
and =
streams of central Israel. In short, the Palestinian Authority is using =
water as a weapon against the State of Israel. It is not interested in =
practical solutions to solve the Palestinian people=92s water shortages, bu=
t =
rather perpetuation of the shortages and the besmirching of Israel.
A significant public debate has been sparked by the assertion of European =
Parliament President Martin Schulz that the amount of water available to th=
e =
average Israeli unfairly overwhelms the amount of water available to the =
average Palestinian. The main issue that should be discussed =96 and has no=
t =
been sufficiently analyzed =96 is: What are the causes of Palestinian water =
supply problems?
The discussion must be informed by the following basic facts:
1. The Oslo agreements grant the Palestinians the right to draw 70 million =
cubic meters from the Eastern Mountain Aquifer (ground water reservoir). Ye=
t =
this water resource is not currently being capitalized on by the =
Palestinians; the waters spill untapped underground into the Dead Sea. As =
per the Israeli-Palestinian agreement, some 40 sites were identified for =
drilling into this aquifer in the eastern Hebron hills region, and permits =
were granted to the Palestinians by the Israel-PA Joint Water Committee. =
Nevertheless, over the past 20 years, the Palestinians have drilled at just =
one-third of these sites, despite the fact that the international community =
has offered to finance the drilling of all sites. If the Palestinians were =
to drill and develop all these wells, they could have completely solved the =
existing water shortage in the Hebron hills region. But the Palestinians =
have preferred to drill wells on the Western Mountain Aquifer, the basin =
that provides groundwater to the State of Israel. Instead of solving the =
problem they have chosen to squabble with Israel.
2. The Palestinians do not bother fixing water leaks in city pipes. Up to 3=
3 =
percent of water in Palestinian cities is wasted through leakage. Upkeep on =
the Palestinians=92 urban water infrastructure has been completely neglecte=
d. =
By comparison, leakage from Israeli municipal water pipes amount to only 10 =
percent of water usage.
3. The Palestinians refuse to build water treatment plants, despite their =
obligation to do so under the Oslo agreement. Sewage flows out of =
Palestinian towns and villages directly into local streams, thereby =
polluting the environments and the aquifer and causing the spread of =
disease. Despite the fact that donor countries are willing to fully fund th=
e =
building of treatment plants, the Palestinians have managed to avoid their =
obligations to build such facilities. (Only over the past two years has =
Israeli pressure moved the PA forward a bit on this matter.)
4. The Palestinians absolutely refuse to irrigate their agricultural fields =
with treated sewage effluents. By comparison, more than half the =
agricultural fields in Israel are irrigated with treated waste water. =
Irrigating Palestinian agricultural fields with recycled water instead of =
fresh water would free up large amounts of water for home usage. This would =
greatly reduce the water shortage in many places.
5. Some Palestinian farmers irrigate their fields by flooding, rather than =
with drip irrigation technology. Drip irrigation, as practiced in Israel, =
brings water directly to the root of each plant, thereby reducing water =
consumption by more than 50 percent. Flooding fields causes huge water =
evaporation and leads to great waste.
6. The international community has offered to build a desalination plant fo=
r =
the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians have refused this gift=
. =
A desalination plant could completely solve the Gaza Strip=92s water =
shortages. The Palestinians refuse to build this plant because they claim =
they have the right to access the fresh groundwater reservoir in Judea and =
Samaria, and they are prepared to suffer until they realize this dream. In =
the meanwhile, Gaza residents suffer from severe shortages of water.
These basic, undeniable facts are extremely important because they have =
wide-ranging consequences.
Today, the Palestinians consume some 200 million cubic meters of water per =
annum in Judea and Samaria. The Palestinians could easily raise that amount =
by at least 50 percent, without any additional assistance or allocation fro=
m =
the State of Israel. This would require several simple actions:
If the Palestinians were to begin drilling the Eastern Mountain Aquifer, at =
the sites already approved for drilling, they very quickly would secure an =
additional 50 million cubic meters of water per year.
If the Palestinians were to reduce urban water waste from 33 percent to 20 =
percent by fixing the main leaks in their urban water pipes (something that =
can be done without great effort), they would immediately benefit from 10 =
million additional cubic meters of water per annum.
If the Palestinians were to collect and treat their urban waste water, they =
would gain at least 30 million cubic meters of water a year. This would fre=
e =
up 30 million cubic meters (per annum) of fresh water, currently used for =
agriculture, for home usage. This would allow them both to improve their =
urban water supply and to expand agricultural lands.
If the Palestinians were to adopt drip irrigation technology, they would =
save 10 million cubic meters a year. This would allow them to expand their =
irrigated lands.
In the Gaza Strip, too, the Palestinians could easily double the amount of =
water available, without additional assistance from the State of Israel. If =
the Palestinians agreed to build a desalination plant on the Gaza coast =
(funded entirely by the international community), they would increase the =
amount of water available by 60 to 100 million cubic meters a year. If they =
fix leakages, treat and recycle sewage, and adopt drip irrigation, they =
would double their water allocation, as well.
Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority=92s deleterious policies =96 as =
evidenced in the six facts listed above =96 are a function of the Palestini=
an =
water war against Israel. There is no real Palestinian desire to solve wate=
r =
problems; they prefer to perpetuate the water problems in order to besmirch =
the State of Israel. They view water as a tool with which to bash Israel.
The warlike strategy adopted by the Palestinian Authority regarding water =
explains several additional realities.
Illegal drilling of wells: As of 2010, the Palestinians had drilled about =
250 unauthorized wells into the Western and Northern Aquifers, in violation =
of the Oslo agreements. Since 2010 the number of unauthorized wells being =
dug has continued to rise at an alarming pace. This has caused a reduction =
in the natural discharge of water in the Beit Shean and Harod valleys, =
forcing Israeli farmers to reduce their agricultural plantings. Ultimately, =
the State of Israel has been forced to reduce its pumping at the Mountain =
aquifer from 500 million cubic meters per annum in 1967 to about 400 millio=
n =
cubic meters per annum today.
The Palestinians also steal water by pirate tapping into pipes belonging to =
Mekorot, Israel=92s national water company. As a result, Mekorot=92s abilit=
y to =
supply water to Israelis and Palestinians alike has been compromised. The =
stolen water is used mainly for agriculture, not for home usage.
Sustainable development: The PA purposefully flaunts the principle of =
=93sustainable development=94 =96 a core standard of effective and modern e=
conomic =
management =96 in every way. Authorities that do not fix water leaks, do no=
t =
collect and treat sewage, refuse to conserve water used for agriculture, an=
d =
do not collect payment for water usage are in flagrant violation of this =
principle.
Which brings us to another dirty little secret about the Palestinians: most =
West Bank and Gaza residents and businesses do not pay the PA for the water =
they use, in either their homes or fields. There are simply no water meters =
on pumping wells and no water meters at the entry to most homes, so it is =
impossible for the PA to measure the amount of money owed by individual =
consumers. This, of course, leads to widespread water waste. People who don=
=92t =
pay for their water usage have no motivation to conserve.
Reliance on Israel: The Palestinians purchase about 50 million cubic meters =
of water from Israel=92s Mekorot water company each year, but the Palestini=
an =
Authority does not pay for this water directly. Rather, the State of Israel =
pays Mekorot, and then deducts the costs of the water from the customs and =
tax monies that Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority at =
Israeli ports. However, it must be noted that the Palestinian Authority pay=
s =
Mekorot for just 80 percent of the actual cost of the water it consumes. =
Negotiations to raise water prices have dragged on for more than 10 years, =
and Israel has given up many times.
Because the water market is administered in an opaque fashion, the Israeli =
consumer effectively subsidizes the Palestinian consumer. The average =
Israeli pays approximately 10 shekels per cubic meter of water. About 0.2 =
shekels of that fee goes to subsidize the water provided to the Palestinian=
s =
below cost.
The sum total of the situation described above is that the Palestinian =
Authority is using water as a weapon against the State of Israel. It is mor=
e =
interested in reducing the amount of water available to Israel, polluting =
natural reservoirs, harming Israeli farmers, and sullying Israel=92s =
reputation around the world than truly solving water problems for the =
Palestinian people. The Palestinians are not interested in practical =
solutions to address shortages; rather, they seek to perpetuate the =
shortages, and to blame the State of Israel.
Unfortunately, President Schulz=92s Knesset address, with its =
seemingly-straightforward but baseless accusations against Israel, suggests =
that the PA is succeeding in this effort to befuddle international observer=
s =
and besmirch Israel.
Beyond the conclusion reached above, it is worthwhile to consider a broader =
perspective on the water situation in the Middle East. The Palestinians liv=
e =
in the shadow of the State of Israel, a world superpower in terms of water =
technologies. Consequently, the Palestinians enjoy a relative Garden of =
Eden. Only in Israel, in the West Bank, and in Gulf States does sufficient, =
safe, drinkable tap water exist in 96 percent of households. Residents in =
almost every other country in the region suffer from terrible water =
shortages.
In Amman, the Jordanian capital, water is supplied to private homes just =
once every two weeks. In Syria, agricultural fields in the Euphrates Valley =
are drying up due to the upstream diversion of water by the Turks. In recen=
t =
years (before the =93Arab Spring=94 began), about three million farmers mig=
rated =
from the Euphrates Valley to the outskirts of Damascus because their lands =
had dried up. In Damascus, too, the water running in the river beds, which =
used for drinking, is mixed with sewage. In Iraq, agricultural fields are =
drying up because waters upstream on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers are =
being diverted by the Turks. There too, millions of farmers lost their =
lands. In Egypt, enormous amounts of water are lost due to flood irrigation=
. =
The Nile provides 30 times more water than Israel=92s annual usage and Egyp=
t=92s =
population is just 10 times greater than Israel. Therefore, we would expect =
to see a water surplus. Nevertheless, Egypt suffers from severe hunger and =
thirst due to severe wastage of water. In North Africa too, there are =
insufferable water shortages.
By contrast, the State of Israel creates artificial water (desalinated =
seawater and recycled sewage) and behaves frugally and effectively, and as =
a =
result there is no shortage of water, despite having experienced many years =
of drought. Furthermore, the State of Israel is a net exporter of water! =
Israel supplies 55 million cubic meters of water each year to Jordan, and =
sells 50 million cubic meters to the Palestinians.
In the future, if and when peace is achieved, and cooperation is truly =
desired by the Palestinians =96 which they do not currently seek =96 the St=
ate =
of Israel will be ready and able to assist its neighbors in overcoming thei=
r =
water shortages.
Prof. Haim Gvirtzman is a professor of hydrology at the Institute of Earth =
Sciences at the Hebrew University and a member of the Israel Water Authorit=
y =
Council. He is also a long-time advisor of the Israel-PA Joint Water =
Committee. He authored the BESA Center=92s groundbreaking 2012 study on =
Israel-Palestinian water issues.
BESA Center Perspectives Papers are published through the generosity of the =
Greg Rosshandler Family
________________________________________
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