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Water and the Crisis in the Middle East

In recent weeks, Israel has threatened Lebanon with war if the Lebanese continue building a diversion project that uses water from the Wazzani River for agricultural irrigation in southern Lebanon. The Wazzani is a tributary of the Hasbani River which flows into the Jordan River, which is a major source of water for Israel. Last week, the Lebanese began operation of this project.

The Lebanese have said the project will take less than 10 million cubic metres from the Wazzani and, as such, falls within the fair share allowed to Lebanon under international law. The Hasbani River begins in Lebanon, flowing through the southern region for over 50 km before joining the Jordan River and emptying into the Sea of Galilee. The Hasbani was within the area of south Lebanon occupied by Israel until its withdrawal in the summer of 2000. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defence Minister Binyamin Ben Eliezer have both said the diversion will not be tolerated.

Following a meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell in September, a team of American water experts arrived in Lebanon to review the project. The Americans are reportedly anxious to broker a deal to resolve the tensions, as any Israeli-Lebanese conflict would hinder their plans for an invasion of Iraq in the coming months.

The dispute has highlighted some of Israel's interests in the continued occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, despite the havoc this occupation is creating within Israel and the increasing isolation it is causing internationally.

Water is a scarce and precious resource in the Middle East. Growing populations and the industrial and agricultural production vital to the economies of the region require vast water resources. Israel would have to share water resources with a Palestinian state, including the waters of the Jordan River, one of the smallest rivers in the Middle East. The Jordan's main tributaries are the Hasbani, Dan, Baniyas and Yarmuk, with only the Dan originating within Israeli borders. The waters of the Jordan have never been enough to meet Israeli needs - Shimon Peres is reported to have said the Jordan is richer in history than in water. The use of groundwater reserves has always been essential to Israel, with the West Bank receiving most of the region's annual rainfall.

A paper prepared by the Centre for Sustainable Development at Ghent University in Belgium pointed out that with the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza strip in 1967 Israel suddenly had access to these groundwater reserves. Shortly after the occupation, Israel passed a law making water resources in the occupied territories public property that could be "destined for the requirements of its inhabitants and for the development of the country." The (largely Palestinian) property owners were told they no longer had rights to the water resources on their land, with authority transferred from traditional village and town councils to the Civil Administration set up by the Israeli occupying forces. It was this administration that was able to grant permission or restrict access to groundwater resources.

According to the Ghent University study, "…the growing Palestinian demand for water was systematically ignored and the necessary licenses were almost always refused. The use of more powerful water installations and deeper wells in the Jewish settlements caused the older Palestinian wells to dry out. The majority of the Palestinian wells are now out of operation."

According to United Nations figures, the per capita consumption of water by Palestinians in the West Bank is 35m³, compared to 321m³ for Israelis, including settlers in the West Bank.

A study conducted recently by the Applied Research Institute in Jerusalem found that around 25 per cent of the Palestinian population living under occupation have not been connected to household water distribution systems. This is despite the fact that they live in the most water rich area in the region, and that the Israeli settlements located right beside them receive water resources directly from wells formerly under Palestinian control.