ERMUSR MISC ISSUES 03-09-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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P l.a Most of this water is consumed for agricultural purposes- i ne agri- cultural sector represents 2 percent to 3 percent of the Israeli gross domestic product but 24 percent to 30 percent of the Palestinian GDP.A critical natural resource that is both scarce and unfairly dis- tributed is a catalyst for conflict.And while the root of the conflict 'here has been over land,water is playing a growing role-The estab- lishment of the Joint Water Committee (JWC) between Palestinian and Israeli technicians under the Oslo Accords seemed a step toward cooperation.But the power fleeted in the JWC's structurecontributed to the ineffectiveness of i–,.., the JWC,and well before the Oslo Accords were dead, unregulated , a:. pumping and crippling destruction of the aquifers were underway- .. -, The "separation barrier"being built inside the West Bank is testa- -..., esta- t- €. ''• meat to just how bad things have become.The wall's effective annez,; ation of the land in this prime water territory has put at least 50 wells' out of service,so that about a third of the water once available to Pal- estinians from the Western A quifer is now in Israeli hands.The result is felt both by the farmers who lose their crops and by all concerned °" ,c i -* about the viability of a future Palestinian state. The illegal settlements,so costly to maintain and scorned by the ...'- ' a5- mainstream Israeli public,make things worse-The construction of :' settlements and the deep wells necessary to sustain them continues. Private(Palestinian)water-tankers lumber up to the settlements ev- ery summer,looking for water to take back to villagers who are inr mobile in their seakdoff villages—and thirsty.At a price between f 7� zr va.•.m u.tun-ASSOCIATED MSS five and 15 times that charged by the Israeli government,there is a1--,` Mark ZCZtoun ways a settler willing to make the deal.The irony of this lucrative,i1 legal business is not lost on the Palestinian farmer-Not only is the wa- ter"stolen"from under his feet,he is then actually forced to buy it '' �`//�• - " back from the "thief-"Many farmers have reverted, in turn,to dig Avoiding a Mideast deast gutg their own unregulated shallow wells.The end result"The agui 11 1. fers are being pierced and overpumped at rates unparalleled Thine T ry. Meanwhile, Palestinian water infrastructure continues to suffer Water at^r Tar targeted destruction in various Israeli military operations. `/,/ e W We the situation is not sustainable,there is a way out Israel's great advantage in political,military and economic power actually of- fers it the opportunity and responsibility to avoid more conflict wa- ter in this tiny, dry land must be managed by all parties concerned JERUSALEM—Last summer was long and hot in the West Bank.It was also very dry. Palestinian summers are dry,and water and can no longer be held hostage to destructive military,political or for crops and drinking has always been scarce.But for Palestinians religious interests. Both sides must have rights to their resources, suffering under a double yoke of drought-level rainfall and the Israeli and a reformed cooperating institution must be established to allow occupation, these years are drier and thirstier than ever. The only for equitable joint water management. The situation could change permanent surface watercourses in the area are the Jordan River and from one of theft and finger-pointing to one of equal use and responsi- the Lake of Tiberias.The waters are allocated,under the terms of a bthty.Unless this happens,a technically resolvable issue will cont n- 1996 agreement,between Jordan and IsraeL The Palestinia living ue toward the sphere of unavoidable conflict- ns along the Jordan River's west bank are entitled to not a drop of it. Apart from springs,the only source of water available to Palestin- Mark Zeitoun is a humanitarian-aid water engineer who has ians is the water in underground reservoirs(aquifers)directly under worked on assignments in Lebanon,Congo-Brazzaville,Iraq their feet.These aquifers also are a prime water source for Israel— and,most recently,the occupied Palestinian territories. providing 40 percent of its groundwater requirements.The ground- water of the Gaza Strip is shallow and easy to pump but increasingly C) contaminated by untreated sewage and seawater.The groundwater / j , lo% (/� in the West Bank is relatively"sweet"(of good quality)but—as it is • �' 6iii777/ often located as deep-as 1,500 feet below the earth's surface—an a, - f t "O enormous amount of energy is required to drill and pump it out.Of the aquifers that lie mainly under Israel,Israel draws 100 percent.Of those that lie mainly under the West Bank,Palestinians draw 20 per- cent, Israel 80 percent. The average Israeli uses roughly 350 cubic meters of water per year—four times the amount used by the average Palestinian.