opinions
In her July 17 op-ed in J., “Israel’s drought relief comes at a (Palestinian) cost,” Joan Meisel of the anti-Israel organization Jewish Voice for Peace spews a tired, much-repudiated ramble about water usage in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority creates this water situation to provide fodder for gullible, predisposed anti-Israel people like Ms. Meisel and to gain sympathy on the international stage.
The Palestinian Authority is more interested in allowing the problem to fester and sully Israel’s reputation than it is interested in solving water issues for the Palestinian people. Instead, it seeks to perpetuate the shortages and to blame Israel.
The Palestinians refuse to develop their own significant underground water resources, fix massive leakage from their municipal water pipes, build sewage treatment plants, irrigate land with treated sewage effluents or modern water-saving devices, or bill their own citizens for consumer water usage, leading to enormous waste. Some 33 percent of water in Palestinian cities is wasted through leakage.
By contrast, Israel creates artificial water (desalinated seawater and recycled sewage) and behaves frugally and effectively, and as a result there is no shortage of water, despite Israel’s having experienced many years of drought.
Furthermore, Israel is a net exporter of water. Israel supplies 55 million cubic meters of water each year to Jordan and sells 50 million cubic meters to the Palestinians.
As for the aquifers that Ms. Meisel mentions, the Oslo agreements grant the Palestinians the right to draw 70 million cubic meters from the Eastern Mountain Aquifer (ground water reservoir). Yet the Palestinians are not currently capitalizing on this water resource. As per the Israeli-Palestinian agreement, some 40 sites were identified for drilling into this aquifer in the eastern Hebron hills region, and permits were granted by the Israel-PA Joint Water Committee. Nevertheless, over the past 20 years, the Palestinians have drilled at just one-third of these sites.
As for the water usage by Israelis living in the West Bank, they consume 47 million cubic meters per year, which means 134 cubic meters per year of fresh natural water per capita. Settlers obtain their water only from Israeli sources, which includes approved (Israeli) wells in the West Bank and sourcing directly from Israel. Meanwhile, Palestinian total consumption each year is about 190 cubic meters per capita.
Article 40 of the Interim Agreement provides the guidelines for administration of water for both Israelis and Palestinians. It not only dictates how water should be portioned, but also how the joint resource should be managed and what steps should be taken by either side to guarantee water sustainability and coexistence. Israel has consistently followed this agreement while the Palestinian side rarely lives up to its responsibilities.
It is truly sad that the unelected Palestinian Authority uses its people as pawns in its war of words with Israel. If instead of fighting Israel, the authority worked with Israel, there would be peace and plenty of water for all.
Sloane Citron is the founder and publisher of 18 Media Inc., a publisher of high-end Bay Area magazines. He is married, has four children and lives in Menlo Park.