bitterlemons-international.org
Middle East Roundtable /
Edition 30
A Palestinian View:
Water and international law
by Ghassan Khatib
With the increasing scarcity of water, both as a result of
natural causes and population growth, the issue of water is becoming a more
and more significant component of the Arab-Israel conflict in general, and
the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli struggle in particular. Indeed, in the peace
process that was initiated in the beginning of the 1990s, water was
recognized as one of the most significant final status issues together with
Jerusalem, borders, settlements, and security.
The water issue has more than one dimension. It is a question
of sovereignty affecting territorial and border issues. One reason behind
the Israeli drive to modify borders away from 1967 lines is water. It is
also at the core of the settlement issue simply because one of the many
considerations behind the location and building of settlements is water:
Israel has been concentrating its settlement expansion policy over the water
reservoirs in occupied Palestinian territories.
Moreover, Israeli practices concerning the issue of water in
occupied territory have been in violation of international law in more than
one way: on the one hand, Israel is illegally stealing water that
international law prevents occupiers from using for the purposes of its own
citizens, and on the other, Israel is restricting the indigenous population,
the Palestinians, from being able to use and enjoy the water that legally
belongs to them. Israeli
water policy in the occupied territories is also an illustration of the
racial discrimination inherent in the occupation. Studies show that Israeli
settlers, with no restrictions on their usage of water, on a per capita
basis use 20 times more water than the average Palestinian individual.
So there are two levels to this issue. One has to do with the
current situation, which needs to be dealt with in accordance with
international law. International law clearly allows the occupied people the
right to enjoy whatever scarce water resources they have under territories
legally considered as occupied and also prevents the occupiers from using
them. The second is the way this issue should be dealt with in final
negotiations. In this regard, the Palestinians will insist on their full
rights rather than negotiate over the use of water from these resources,
i.e. the complete control over and consequent use of water aquifers under
Palestinian territories.
There is, of course, some complexity arising where reservoirs lie under the
borders, meaning the two states will share the same reservoirs. But even in
such a situation international law has specific regulations to be followed.
A recent example of the problems generated by the water issue
appeared when Israel and Jordan wanted to negotiate the implementation of a
study sponsored by the World Bank on a potential Red-Dead or Med-Dead canal,
to bring water to the Dead Sea to offset the decline in water levels there
and to use such a canal to generate electricity along the way. The World
Bank considered Palestine as a legal partner, not only for the project
itself but for the study. The project has been shelved for now because of
Israel's refusal to acknowledge Palestinian rights in this regard.
Similar to all other issues in this conflict, the water issue
can be solved only when Israel is willing to recognize the legitimate rights
of the Palestinian people according to the relevant stipulations of
international law. The refusal to adhere to international legality on the
water issue is an indicator of a continuing Israeli unwillingness to replace
the current conflict with normal and peaceful relations between the two
peoples. Ghassan Khatib is
coeditor of bitterlemons.org and bitterlemons-international.org. He is the
Palestinian Authority minister of labor and has been a political analyst and
media contact for many years. An
Israeli View:
Things could get worse
Bitterlemons-international.org is an internet
forum for an array of world perspectives on the Middle East and its
specific concerns. It aspires to engender greater understanding about
the Middle East region and open a new common space for world thinkers
and political leaders to present their viewpoints and initiatives on the
region. Editors Ghassan Khatib and Yossi Alpher can be reached at
ghassan@bitterlemons-international.org
and
yossi@bitterlemons-international.org, respectively.
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17-08-2004 |