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Water in Palestine Problems-Politics-Prospects |
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Water has been a major issue in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations since the early 1990s, but to date, little progress has been made on either the bilateral or the multilateral track. In the Oslo II Agreement of September 1995, Israel recognized Palestinian water rights, but owing to its complexity and significance, the water issue - together with other thorny issues such as Jerusalem, borders, refugees, settlements and security - was left to the final status negotiations, which were to begin in May 1996 and conclude by 4 May 1999, but have yet to start. The water problem thus remains one of the most contentious issues that need to be resolved between Israel and Palestine. The current water crisis is not only a consequence of the water scarcity in the region, but also an inherent part of the general Palestinian-Israeli conflict; for instance, the Palestinians have yet to be granted their legal entitlements from the water resources they formally share with Israel. The agreements signed between Israel and the PLO in the 1990s have also failed to improve the situation as they provide only temporary solutions that are neither fair nor sustainable. Moreover, over the past ten years, Israel has continued to neglect the importance of engaging in serious negotiations relating to water. In light of the above and based on the fact that the water issue is multidisciplinary in nature, which, coupled with the existing political problems, implies that any solution relating to the water situation will affect other fields, disciplines and issues, the PASSIA Water Project attempted to identify those issues, pinpoint the crucial facts, and clarify the commonly used terminology. Despite the discouraging situation on the ground, this publication argues that there is enough water to meet everybody’s needs if equity, fairness and an overall framework for water management are applied. It thus aims to show ways how the current imbalances could be corrected through a mutually beneficial solution that satisfies the needs of both parties in light of existing water resources and the potential feasible alternatives. To achieve this end, the PASSIA team discussed the idea of producing a publication that reflects the relationship between water and related subject areas, such as legal aspects, economic development, management institutions and resources, the environment, and final status issues (settlements, borders, etc.) with Fadia Daibes, PhD, a specialist in Water Law and Policy, who then agreed to edit the resulting research papers. The papers, which examine the relationship between water and those issues as well as how they will affect future decisions, are presented as follows: The first chapter of this publication (by Fadia Daibes) describes the general water situation, the history of the water conflict in Palestine, and the water-related political and legal environment. It outlines how the Palestinians’ inability to practice legal sovereignty over their indigenous resources and the absence of an agreement governing the utilization, development and management of the transboundary water resources affect their water use, planning and decision-making. The chapter then proposes a progressive approach for solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the prevailing hydrological and political conditions, the knowledge gained from international state practice, and the rules and principles of International Law. Chapter two (by Anan Jayyousi) describes the present water supply and use and then discusses future water needs in light of demographic developments. The chapter also investigates available conventional and non-conventional water resource options and proposes main strategic issues that need to be followed in order to fully respond to the supply and demand needs in the region. Chapter three (by Yousef Nasser) introduces water as a crucial element for development. It looks into the historical development of the Palestinian water sector before discussing the present situation in light of the existing peace agreements as well as the prevailing water use patterns. The chapter further assesses the need and demand for water and its impact on development particularly in terms of the agriculture, industry and commerce sectors. Chapter Four (by Marwan Haddad) discusses the current water situation in Palestine as well as the various pitfalls and prospects associated with local water resources management. It first takes a critical look at the existing water institutions in Palestine, assessing their structures and performance and pointing at their deficiencies. The author then proposes institutional reforms, which build on the concepts of decentralization and public private partnership and will hopefully result in a more effective management of water resources. Chapter Five (by Fayez Freijat) discusses one of the most important issues associated with the water problem – the Jewish settlements. After first looking at demographic developments with regard to the settler population, the chapter then examines both the environmental and socio-economic impacts these settlements have on agriculture and water resources in the Occupied Territories and the related Israeli environmental policy. The papers presented here emphasize the option to resolve the water dispute on a reasonable and equitable basis through mutually acknowledging the need for cooperation in terms of the utilization of the available resources. The Palestinian Authority has expressed its commitment to sustainable development, environmental protection, and regional cooperation on many occasions. In September 2002, for instance, in a statement to the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development, the Palestinian delegation announced the following: “An environmental model based on a strategic vision - to think globally, cooperate regionally, plan nationally and act locally - was set.” In order to achieve the needed cooperative approach, Israel must rethink its water policy and turn away from its current unilateral perspective and towards joint regional efforts. Eventually, Palestinians and Israelis will have no choice but to tackle the thorny issue of water and talk about ways and means of sharing this scarce resource. In order to assist in this process, the PASSIA Water Project further developed a glossary of relevant Palestinian terms and concepts in relation to the water issue that could serve as a platform in future negotiations, the aim being to establish a consensus with regard to the use of the terminology among Palestinian experts, negotiators, and politicians. In addition to the research papers and the glossary, a comprehensive and specialized bibliography of articles, books and other works related to the water issue within the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was compiled. It is published in the appendices along with an annotated Internet Guide containing relevant websites on water, a list of Palestinian institutes and organizations working in the field of water and the environment, and further water-related documentation and maps – all of which, it is hoped, will contribute in making this a valuable resource book for researchers, students and anyone else with an interest in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in general and the water issue in particular. PASSIA would like to express its appreciation of the role and work of the editor of this publication, Mrs. Fadia Daibes, PhD, who identified and recruited the needed (water) experts, commissioned their papers and took on the responsibility of coordinating with the authors regarding the content and structure of their papers, which included discussing various details and analyses. Mrs. Daibes further edited the draft papers of the researchers and was the main source behind the developing of the glossary, which formed part of the PASSIA Water Project. This book would not have been published were it not for the invaluable efforts of the whole PASSIA team, which not only took care of the English language editing, layout and cover design, but also compiled the entries for the Internet Guide, the List of Palestinian Institutes and Organizations, and the bibliography. Finally, special thanks go to the Canadian Representative Office in Ramallah for the kind support that made the producing and printing of this important and much-needed publication possible.
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PASSIA |
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