Saturday, June 6, 2015

Water Water Everywhere: Israel Doubles Gaza's water supply

Water issues are not unique to the Middle East. 145 countries share inter-river systems. 21 countries receive 50% or more of their freshwater from "upstream" nations. Nearly 2/3 of the world's population lives under water stress. Most shared water resources are not covered under treaties- it took the United States and Mexico 40 years of negotiation to  to agree to the 1944 Water Treaty for the "Utilization of Waters of
the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande".


According to the World Resources Institute, Israel faces greater water stress than the Palestinian territories. 

Facing the facts on the ground, it makes this article even more remarkable.


Israel's national water company Mekorot, in accordance with the Water Authority's guidelines, recently doubled its water supply to the Gaza Strip by 5 million cubic meters. The annual supply will now amount to 10 million cubic meters of water.

The new water supply of 5 million cubic meters to the Gaza Strip will come from two sources including the Nahal Oz pipeline in the south and an older line in the Kissufim area that provides water to the center of the Strip.

The article continues:

Over the years, the quantity of water supplied by Mekorot increased far beyond the amount agreed upon. Over the last five years, over 52 million cubic meters of water were annually supplied to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and 5 million cubic meters of water were annually supplied to the Gaza Strip, nearly 2 twice the agreed-upon amount.

The amount of water provided to the Palestinian Authority from Israel's national water system and its quality are among the highest in the world, in accordance with international standards. Moreover, Israel transfers, via Mekorot, 55 million cubic meters of water annually to Jordan.

Unfortunately, in the strange and truth-option world of anti-Israel activism we can't count on the actual facts to put the water libel to rest.

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