PLANS by Israel to dig a “security canal” between the Palestinian territory of Gaza and Egypt will destroy Gaza’s last reserves of water, according to the head of the Palestinian Water Authority, Nabil Sharif. He made the claim at the Stockholm Water Symposium last week during heated exchanges over a series of long-running water disputes between Israelis and Palestinians.
According to the UN, Gaza has the worst water resources of any political territory in the world. What water it has comes from an aquifer beneath Gaza that is severely over-pumped and polluted with salty seawater. “If the [canal] project goes ahead, it would destroy the aquifer,” said Sharif.
Israel put the canal construction project out to tender in June. It is intended to prevent Palestinians digging tunnels that Israelis say are being used to smuggle arms across the border. According to Israeli press reports, the canal would be 100 metres wide, 25 metres deep and 5 kilometres long, and could be built by early next year.
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Palestinian hydrologists believe that water would seep into the canal from the precious aquifer, emptying its reserves. But Israeli Water Commissioner Shimon Tal told the conference that while he knew nothing about the canal because it was a security matter, “I am sure we won’t allow it to destroy the aquifer.” Experts at the conference were not immediately able to judge how realistic the Palestinian fears were.
The new row follows continuing Palestinian anger about the Israeli security fence that passes through West Bank villages. “Many Palestinians cannot get to their wells to irrigate their land,” said Sharif. “It is not in Israel’s best interest to have a poor and thirsty neighbour.”
Tal said desalinated seawater could come to the rescue of both sides. Israel is building a series of coastal desalination plants to provide drinking water for its growing population, and Israel wants the international community to build two extra works to supply Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza (51¶ŻÂţ, 29 May, p 6).
Palestinians are blocking this move. Sharif’s deputy, Fadel Kawash, said he believed that Israel wants the desalinated seawater to become a substitute for giving Palestinians their legal right to a greater share of the cheaper underground water beneath the West Bank and in the river Jordan. Both are now largely in Israeli hands. Tal responded that if the two sides could cooperate on desalination, “the negotiations on natural sources will be much easier”.
Despite the stalemate, both sides agreed that day-to-day cooperation on minor matters – such as securing Israeli approval for small wells on the West Bank and sharing technical resources — must continue.
