The Water Crisis in the Occupied Territories
B'TSELEM
Israel's citizens, like those of developed countries worldwide, benefit year-round from unlimited running water to meet their household needs. On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians suffer from a severe water shortage throughout the summer.
This shortage of water affects every function that water plays in human life: drinking, bathing, cleaning, and watering of crops and animals.
The shortage drastically affects the residents' health and economic well-being. The shortage of drinking water can cause dehydration and the inability to maintain proper hygiene and thus lead to illness. Failure to water crops and animals affects the livelihood of the residents.
The water shortage violates the basic human rights of Palestinian residents of the Occupied Territories such as the right to health, to adequate housing, to equality, and to benefit from their natural resources. This harm results from Israeli policy, in effect since 1967, based on an unfair division of resources shared by Israel and the Palestinians.
The Shared Water Sources
Israel and the Palestinians share two main water sources. The first is the Mountain Aquifer, a system extending over approximately 130 Km, from Mount Carmel in the north to Beersheva in the south. The aquifer is some 35 Km wide - from the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley on the east, to the eastern border of the coastal strip on the west. The aquifer is fed by rain that falls mostly on the mountains of the West Bank and seeps into it. The water then flows eastward and westward to the reservoir areas, from where it is drawn by wells. This source supplies about one-quarter of the water needs of Israel and the Israeli settlements and almost all the running water that Palestinians in the West Bank receive.
The second joint source of water, according to international law, is the upper Jordan River and its tributaries: the Sea of Galilee, the Yarmuh, and the lower Jordan River. Although only the Jordan River is shared geographically, the water Israel draws from the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River sources directly affects the amount of water in the river itself. This source supplies approximately one-third of Israel's water needs, and also serves Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Palestinians do not receive any water from this source.
Control over Water under the Occupation
Demand for water by Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has been increasing since the 1920s. The main reason for the increase is, in addition to natural population growth, the increased number of homes connected to a central water network. The demand for water in the Occupied Territories increased at a greater rate since the beginning of the Israeli occupation, in 1967, because of the relative increase in the Palestinian standard of living following integration of the economies of the Occupied Territories and Israel.
However, Israel's tight control of the water sector in the Occupied Territories prevented development that would enable the water sector to meet Palestinians' increasing demand for water. Israel instituted restrictions and prohibitions that had not existed under Jordanian and Egyptian control. These restrictions and prohibitions are a principal reason for the water shortage and the resultant water crisis.
Israel's water policy in the Occupied Territories benefited Israel in two primary ways:
1. Preservation of the unequal division of the shared groundwater in the West Bank's Western Aquifer and Northern Aquifer. This division was created prior to the occupation, a result of the gap between economic and technological development in Israel as opposed to the West Bank. However, the gap would have likely diminished had Israel not prevented it.
2. Utilization of new water sources, to which Israel had no access prior to 1967, such as the Eastern Aquifer (in the West Bank) and the Gaza Aquifer, primarily to benefit Israeli settlements established in those areas.
For residents of the Occupied Territories, the primary result of the change in the law and transfer of powers over the water sector to Israeli bodies was the drastic restriction on drilling new wells to meet their water needs. According to military orders, drilling a well required obtaining a permit, which entailed a lengthy and complicated bureaucratic process. The vast majority of applications submitted during the occupation were denied. The few that were granted were solely for domestic use, and were less than the number of wells that, after 1967, had ceased to be used due to improper maintenance or because they had dried up.
It should be emphasized that the legal and institutional changes that Israel instituted in the water sector in the Occupied Territories are not intrinsically unacceptable. They conformed to the approach taken in Israel's water sector and could, in principle, have led to a more efficient supply of water to the Palestinians. However, Israel utilized these changes to exclusively promote Israeli interests, almost completely ignoring the needs of the Palestinian population, which was left to face a growing water shortage.
The water crisis in the Occupied Territories resulted not only from the restrictions Israel placed on Palestinian residents, but also from Israel's relatively minimal investment in water infrastructure. The neglect in infrastructure was conspicuous in two areas: in construction of infrastructure to connect rural communities to a running-water network, and in maintenance (to prevent loss of water) of the existing networks. When the Interim Agreement was signed, 20 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank were not connected to a running-water network. The water-pipe leaks resulting from improper maintenance led in some instances to a loss of up to 60 percent of the quantity of water supplied. This was true, for example, in Jenin and Gaza.
Water Issues under the Oslo Accords
The interim agreement that Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed in September 1995 (Oslo 2) includes the most updated understanding on water that has been reached in the peace process framework. It is also more detailed than previous documents. The subject appears in article 40 of the Protocol on Civil Affairs (Annex 3). Israeli officials relate to it as a turning point at which responsibility for the water sector is transferred to the Palestinian Authority. However, this agreement did not significantly change the scope of Israeli control.
The point of departure for the understanding on division of water from the shared sources is that the quantity of water that Israel consumes, both within the Green Line and in the settlements, will not be reduced. According to this principle, any additional water for the Palestinians would be produced from previously unutilized sources, and not by re-distribution of existing sources. This means that almost every addition of water to the Palestinians under this agreement must come from the Eastern Aquifer of the West Bank, which, according to the agreement itself, is the only source that had not been fully utilized prior to signing of the agreement.
From the perspective of the water needs of the Palestinians, the sole "achievement" of this agreement is the joint understanding to increase the supply of water to the Occupied Territories annually by 28.6 million cubic meters (mcm/year). This addition currently constitutes 10 percent of the overall water supply of the Occupied Territories, and 30 percent of domestic and urban use. This quantity is classified as intended for "immediate needs... during the interim period," i.e., from September 1995 to May 1999. As of June 2000, more than a year after expiration of the interim period, only 16 mcm of the addition were actually produced and provided to the Palestinian population.
The agreement also provides that the Palestinians are allowed to develop an additional 41-51 mcm, which presently represents an addition of 17-20 percent of their overall supply, and 40-50 percent of their domestic and urban use. These quantities are intended to meet "future needs." The agreement does not set a timetable for producing this water, and the source of this additional water is unclear.
Israel recognized that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank comprise one territorial unit. However, the Interim Agreement stipulates that, regarding water resources, the Gaza Strip will constitute a separate water sector. Other than the small quantity that Israel undertook to sell, residents of the Gaza Strip will have to meet their needs solely from resources located within its borders, i.e., they are not allowed to obtain water from the West Bank. The failure of the Interim Agreement to re-distribute the water resources shared by the West Bank and Israel prevented any "surplus" of water in the West Bank that could increase the supply of water to the Gaza Strip. As a result, the severance of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank continued, further damaging the Gaza Aquifer because of the necessity to continue the over-extraction.
Pursuant to the Interim Agreement, the parties established the Joint Water Committee (JWC), the body charged with approving every new water and sewage project in the West Bank. The JWC is comprised of an equal number of representatives of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. All its decisions are made by consensus, and no mechanism is established to settle disputes where a consensus cannot be attained. This method of decision-making means that Israel is able to veto any request by the Palestinian representatives to drill a new well to obtain the additions stipulated in the agreement.
Israel's control of extraction of water from the shared aquifers is not limited to its veto power in the JWC over new drillings. If a well approved by the JWC is situated in Area C, which is under Israel's complete control, the High Planning Committee of the Civil Administration must also approve the project.
The Gap in Water Consumption between Palestinians and Israelis
The discrimination in utilization of the resources shared by Israel and the Palestinian Authority is clearly seen in the figures on water consumption by the two populations. Per capita water consumption in the West Bank for domestic, urban, and industrial use is only 26 cubic meters a year, which translates into 70 liters per person per day.
There is a huge gap between Israeli and Palestinian consumption. The average Israeli consumes for domestic and urban use approximately 103 cubic meters a year, or 282 liters per person per day. In other words, per capita use in Israel is four times higher than in the Occupied Territories. To make a more precise comparison, by also taking into account industrial water consumption in Israel, per capita use per year reaches 128 cubic meters - 350 liters per person a day - or five times Palestinian per capita consumption.
The World Health Organization and the United States Agency for International Development recommend 100 liters of water per person per day as the minimum quantity for basic consumption. This amount includes, in addition to domestic use, consumption in hospitals, schools, businesses, and other public institutions.
Three Features of the Water Crisis in the Occupied Territories
Lack of a Water Network
Among those particularly suffering from the water shortage are residents of villages and refugee camps in the Occupied Territories not connected to a running-water network. In the West Bank alone, as of June 2000, the number of such residents amounted to at least 215,000 persons living in more than 150 villages. The principal water source for these people is rainfall, which is collected on rooftops and stored in cisterns near each house. This source meets their water-consumption needs for only a few months, generally from November to May. In the summer, these residents must collect water from nearby springs (if such exist) in plastic bottles and jerricans, and purchase water from private dealers at high prices.
Discriminatory and Insufficient Supply of Water
Several municipalities in the West Bank are compelled to implement rotation plans, particularly during the summer, to distribute the little water available. Under these plans, residents in a particular area of the city receive water for a day. The flow is then shut off for several days, while water is supplied to other areas until the sector's turn comes again. Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jenin implement such plans.
This system is made necessary due to the increased demand for water during the hot season. However, while there is increased demand both among Palestinians and among Israeli settlers, Mekorot [Israel's water company] discriminates and increases the amount of water supplied to the settlers, and does not increase, or even decreases, supply to Palestinian towns. Reduction at times when water consumption increases is accomplished by closing the valve of the main water pipelines through which water flows to Palestinian towns.
Poor Water Quality
Unlike the West Bank, the worst problem in the Gaza Strip's water sector is not the shortage or irregular supply during the summer, but the poor quality of water flowing through the pipes. The poor condition of the water seriously affects the quality of life of the local residents and exposes them to severe heath risks. The sole local water source is the Gaza Aquifer, which provides 96 percent of overall water consumption in the Gaza Strip. Since the 1950s, this aquifer has become polluted and salinated, a process that has worsened with the increased consumption and extraction of water. The main reasons for the pollution and salinization of the aquifer are "over-extraction," penetration of untreated sewage, and penetration of pesticides and fertilizers.
International Law on Water
In examining the international law, it is necessary to distinguish between Israel's obligations as an occupying state to the population under its control, and the use of water sources shared by Israel and the Palestinians, which are considered international waters.
A. Administration of the water sector in occupied territory
1. Prohibition on altering legislation
Article 43 of the 1907 Hague Regulations prohibits the occupying state from changing the legislation in effect prior to occupation. The military orders that Israel issued regarding the water resources and the supply of water in the Occupied Territories significantly changed the legal and institutional structure of the water sector. The water resources in the Occupied Territories were integrated into the legal and bureaucratic system of Israel, severely limiting the ability of Palestinians to develop those resources.
2. Illegal utilization of the water resources
Article 55 of the Hague Regulations limits the right of occupying states to utilize the water sources of occupied territory. The use is limited to military needs and may not exceed past use. Use of groundwater of the Occupied Territories in the settlements does not meet these criteria and therefore breaches article 55.
3. Discrimination between Palestinians and Israeli Settlers
Article 27 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 prohibits the occupying state from discriminating between residents of the occupied territory.* The quantity of water supplied to the settlements is vastly larger than is supplied to the Palestinians. Similarly, the regularity of supply is much greater in the settlements. This discrimination is especially blatant during the summer, when the supply to Palestinians in some areas of the West Bank is reduced to meet the increased demand for water in the settlements receiving water from the same pipelines.
B. Utilization of the shared international water sources
Under international law, the main principle for division of shared water between states is the principle of equitable and reasonable use. This principle is based on the limited-sovereignty doctrine, which provides that, because all parts of the drainage basins of watercourses are hydrologically interdependent, states are not allowed to utilize water located in their territory as they wish, but must take into account the other states that share the resource.
This principle does not state a precise formula quantifying the rights of each state sharing an international watercourse. Rather, it lists the factors to be considered in negotiations between the states to determine the division. Article 6 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses enumerates seven of these factors:
1. The natural features of the shared watercourse (geographic, climatic, hydrologic, and the like);
2. The social and economic needs of the watercourse states;
3. The population dependent on the watercourse in each watercourse state;
4. The effects of the use of the watercourses in one watercourse state on other watercourse states;
5. Existing and potential uses of the watercourse;
6. Conservation, protection, and development of the water resources of the watercourse and the costs of measures taken to that effect;
7. The availability of alternatives to a particular planned or existing use.
Taking into account the components of the principle of equitable and reasonable use, examination of the current division of water between Israel and the Palestinians leads to the conclusion that this division violates Palestinian rights and contravenes international water law.