“Dr. Ghazi Al-Rabab'ah, a professor of political science at the university of Jordan, stated Saturday that Israel's future wars against Arab countries would be over water resources.” He forecast the first war to “be in the Jordan basin area in the Lebanese Shebaa farms,” and within “seven years against Egypt to control the Nile water.”
”He added that Israel also steals Gaza water resources and sends salt
contaminated water from Tiberias lake to Gaza,” and “steals 350,000000 cubic meters of water from Litani river in Lebanon, noting that Israel rejects any
settlement with the Arabs which does not take into account the issue of sharing water supplies.”
”The professor also pointed out that Israel is one of the poorest countries in water resources in the world and its water supplies will run out in the coming years,
which portends that Israel will resort to the strategy of waging wars over
water recourses in other places.”
Dr. Aaron Lerner points out that Israel is trying to resolve the problem by desalination (www.imra.org.il, 11/8), purchases from Turkey, and more efficient usage. Conservatives suggest charging for water at costs, instead of different prices for different classes. They believe that the more extravagant uses for low income would be priced out.
Others have predicted wars over water, too. Water is scarce in that whole desert region, including the professor’s country, Israel. Israel didn’t make war over water, it made peace over water. That is, in its peace agreement with Jordan, it agreed to give Jordan a specified quantity of water annually.
The professor sounds sure of his accusations against Israel, but Israel never started wars against other countries, whereas Jordan started two against Israel. Egypt has disputes with other riparian countries. Some Arab countries have had disputes with Turkey. Generally, international law holds that all the countries along a water course have the right to share in that water. The professor’s accusations that Israel steals water don’t square with that. What we do know is that both Syria and Lebanon have tried to cut off the flow of water to Israel.
Israel also has found Arabs in Judea-Samaria breaking the Oslo accords on water usage. Those are the water thieves.
The accusation that Israel sends Gaza contaminated water from Lake Kinneret does not make sense. Twice Israel refilled Gaza’s aquifer from which the Arabs over-drew and let get saline. Lake Kinneret has better quality water than Israel’s coastal aquifer. Note the professor’s lack of appreciation for Israel’s gratuity. Nor does the professor observe that for political reasons, the P.A. has refused to use foreign funds on joint sewage projects that would protect P.a. sewage water from seeping into Israeli water supplies.
Perhaps the professor should admit that he has no direct line to the Israeli general staff, as he predicts which wars Israel would start and when.
For another accusation against Israeli water usage, click here
Comments
You called me biased, but didn't show a thing wrong with the article. Unable to show it wrong, you resort to name-calling? Shameful!
If I am Zionist because I have reached certain conclusions based on my information, wouldn't that kind of logic apply to you?
You must confuse bias with differing from you.
"A clear example of Israel's appropriation of the water belonging to Arabs is Israel's interest early on in diverting the waters of the Jordan River from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean and to the Negev.
Accordingly, in 1951, contrary to the armistice agreements and over the protests of U.S. and U.N. officials, the Israelis began moving military units and bulldozers into the demilitarized zone on the Syrian border. Spurred by hostilities in the area over water, in 1953, the Eisenhower Administration prepared a unified plan for the use of the Jordan River. In September 1953, Israel, in an apparent attempt to preempt the American plan, secretly began a crash program to construct a nine-mile long pipeline in the demilitarized zone to divert Jordan River waters.
When the Americans learned of Israel's activities which included around the clock work crews, they protested and President Eisenhower went so far as to suspend vital economic aid to Israel."
- by by Ronald Bleier
Zionist interest in the waters of Lebanon goes back as least as far as the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 when Chaim Wietzman wrote to the British Prime Minister explaining that because of its water requirements, a Jewish homeland in Palestine must include the Litani River.
"In the 50's, Israeli Prime Minister Moshe Sharett recorded in his diaries that Moshe Dayan's plan for the control of the Litani River was to "'enter Lebanon, occupy the relevant territory' then the 'territory south of the Litani will be annexed to Israel and everything will fall into place.'" (Quoted in Amery, pp. 18-19)
-
Israel's Appropriation of Arab Water: An Obstacle to Peace
by Ronald Bleier (rbleier@igc.org)
“Israel allows the Palestinians access to only a fraction of the shared water resources, which lie mostly in the occupied West Bank, while the unlawful Israeli settlements there receive virtually unlimited supplies. In Gaza the Israeli blockade has made an already dire situation worse,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s researcher on Israel and the OPT.
In a new extensive report, Amnesty International revealed the extent to which Israel’s discriminatory water policies and practices are denying Palestinians their right to access to water.
Israel uses more than 80 per cent of the water from the Mountain Aquifer, the main source of underground water in Israel and the OPT, while restricting Palestinian access to a mere 20 per cent.
BiasedReporter: The link in the article you contest answered most of your points, but you ignored them. That book you cite makes false assertions about the mountain aquifer and Gaza.
You cite Amnesty International. A.I. is a biased reporter. I often have explained its misrepresentation of situations and of international law, especially in Gaza.
You refer to a politician's citation of a musing by Moshe Dayan, but omit its context. He probably meant in case Lebanon invades Israel again. You know that Lebanese forces were among the invaders of Israel? Did you know of a Lebanese attempt to sever Israel's riparian rights to water? Did you know of Syria's seizure of a part of Israel, which positioned it to claim access to Lake Kinneret? It is not fair to cite Dayan's strategic planning not implemented.
The Arabs rejected Eisenhower's Johnston plan for water usage.
I deleted your comment that was just name-calling; your others discussed the issue
Yo Shulman!
You crack me up! You are DELUSIONAL! For example, did you know that Jews killed British Army officers and committed terrorist bombings? Why not write about how European Jews illegally smuggled weapons and explosives into Palestine in the 1940s?
How about the fact that white, European Jews showed up to live in Palestine?
What Shulman, "God" gave the Jews Palestine? Ha ha ha!
The early Hebrews massacred innocent residents in Palestine to claim that "God" gave the Jews the right to live in the desert.
Abraham was an ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT from BABYLON! Abraham was an Iraqi - not a Palestinian.
The Kingdom of Israel only lasted for 80 years before it was wiped out!
That is the reality.
Sorry, Richard Shulman - you write PROPAGANDA, not FACTUAL NEWS ARTICLES.
Hey Shulman, - where's your sources for any of your so-called facts. Got any citations?
Links?
Books?
Other news agencies reporting...?
Any third party confirmation on any thing that you write about?
This Jordanian "expert" say Israel will be attacking Egypt within 7 years to seize the Nile. That's just crazy.
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