Palestinian water minister: Israel exploits 80% of the West Bank's water
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 2/23/2000

Palestinian Water Minister Nabil El-Sherif asserted that Israel exploits nearly 80% of the West Bank's and Gaza strip's water, saying in an interview with ArabicNews.com that, "Israel must give us nearly between 475 and 500 million cubic meters," asserting that Israeli pressures the Palestinians to desalinate the sea water.

He said that the final negotiations concerning water will be difficult and that coordination must be made with the Arab states, especially Syria and Jordan, accusing Jordan of separating the Palestinians from the negotiations concerning water with Israel and that they did not get their original share of water.

The Palestinian government wants to coordinate with Syria, Jordan and Egypt, he said, yet there is US political pressure not to have a unified Arab stance. The Palestinian people are the weakest side in the negotiations, he added, and they are paying the price, saying that the Palestinian share of the Jordan River according to Johnson's project is 140 million cubic meters and the Palestinians will demand their right for as long as it takes.

He said the Palestinians took nearly 18 wells, which give nearly a million and a half cubic meters annually under Palestinian supervision, denying that Israel polluted the Palestinian water. He said that these are allegations that were not proven even once, yet he asserted that there is burial of Israeli waste in the Palestinian lands, which is a smuggling system for its agents inside the Palestinian lands and that there is currently strict observation on those agents.

The water committee stopped talks with Israel, he said, asserting that Israel is practicing pressure on the Palestinians to look for sea water as a source, saying that the Palestinians have a National project for desalinating the water with a Palestinian fund and there is an electric station being established with a project for water desalination and that the volume production will be nearly 40 million cubic meters per year. The project is to cost nearly $242 million, he said.

He accused Israel of obstinacy that lasted for three years with which negotiations took place to dig a well, yet the license has not yet obtained.

Previous Stories:
  Palestinian - Israeli committee for basic infrastructure convenes tonight   (1/24/2000)
  Palestinian demonstration to protest lack of water in the West Bank   (7/19/1999)
  PLO accuses Israel of stealing water   (2/27/1999)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search