The Oslo Accords allocate 23.6 million cubic meters a year to the Palestinian Authority (P.A.). Israel, however, has allowed the P.A. access to almost twice as much. Israel also offered the P.A. desalinated water, but the P.A. rejects the offer for political reasons. Israel had more than met its commitment.
The P.A., however, violates its commitment. It refuses foreign aid to build obligatory sewage treatment plants, for political reasons. [One political reason is that that would mean cooperation with Israel. Unfortunately, sewage pollutes scarce water aquifers.]
Another violation is illegal drilling of more than 250 wells, without the authorization of the Joint Water Commission. [An excessive number of wells can lower water pressure, so that the new wells reduce output from the old ones.]
How many cubic meters per person are consumed per year, in both areas? In 1967, Israelis had 508. In 2008, it dramatically dropped to 149. The P.A. volume rose 86 (in 1967) to 105 (in 2008). Remember what the P.A. does to lower its own water availability.
Israel has been closing the gap in the two people’s consumption, despite P.A. recalcitrance. How then can A.I. accuse Israel of "discriminatory policies?" A.I.”chose to ignore Israeli data, papers and reports, although they contain verifiable facts presented with total transparency. This questionable approach, which consists in systematically disregarding Israeli material while relying exclusively on Palestinian allegations, raises doubts as to the real intentions of the report's authors and of the organization itself.”
For a full report, see the Israel Water Authority website:
www.water.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/A111EFEF-3857-41F0-B598-F48119AE9170/0/WaterIssuesBetweenIsraelandthePalestinians.pdf
(Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, www.imra.org.il, 10/27.)
A.I. works like the Goldstone commission and Human Rights Watch. They accept Arab “agit-prop,” as we used to dub Soviet warfare by propaganda, and reject Israeli information which is not aggressive but explains the situation in practical terms.
The Foreign Ministry might have added that when Israel acquired control over Gaza, it found that the Arabs had let it get too brackish for use. Israel flushed into the Gaza aquifer enough water to revive it. Does that sound like denial of water?
Arabs and their supporters toss around terms such as “ethnic cleansing” without basis or understanding. They don’t study population figures. Israel still is sending water to Gaza, despite Gaza being in a state of war with Israel. Also, the government of Israel has been boosting the Arab economy in Judea-Samaria. Some ethnic cleansing!
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