Water Issues and Conflict in the
Middle East
“If
we solve every other problem in
the Middle East but do not
satisfactorily resolve the water
problem, our region will explode.”
(Yitzhak Rabin in Klare 2001: 141)
Water and War
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“The next war in the Middle East will be
over water, not politics.” (Boutros BoutrosGhali, Secretary General, United Nations)
“The only matter that could take Egypt to
war again is water.” (Anwar Sadat,
President of Egypt)
“Water is the one issue that could drive
nations of the region to war.” (King
Hussein, Jordan)
“Many of the wars in this century were
about oil, but wars of the next century
will be about water.”(Ismail Serageldin,
Vice President, World Bank)
Water and Conflict
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Water is not distributed uniformly
around the globe, and has been a
source of tension wherever water
resources are shared by neighboring
peoples.

Globally, there are more than 250
water bodies shared by more than
one country.
Current Water Situation in
Middle East Region
WATER - A RENEWABLE OR
FINITE RESOURCE?
• Water is critical for life, food production, and
industrial processes.
• 9 out of 14 Southwest Asian states face
water-short conditions (the most
concentrated region of scarcity in the world).
Water Supply
Southwest Asian countries often get
into disputes over their policies on
water rights and other natural
resources.
 Water rights are agreements about
how countries can use the water in a
region.
 Water rights often cause political
disputes.

Facts about water and water scarcity
in the ME
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According to the World Bank the amount one
human needs in order to remain alive and
healthy is 100 to 200 litres per day!
Less than 3 percent of world’s overall water is
fresh water, less than 1 percent of the fresh
water supply is accessible to humans.
World Bank: Eleven countries in the ME have
annual per capita supplies at or less than 100
cubic meters:

Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Saudi
Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and
Yemen
Water Issues in the Middle East
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WATER
Only 3 countries in the
Middle East do not
need to depend on
outside fresh water:
 Iran, Egypt, and
Turkey
2/3 of the Middle East
depend on water from
outside their borders
Jordan is one of the
most water scarce
countries in the world.
One of the 504 dams
in Turkey
Water Issues in the Middle East:
• >90% of population growth will be in
developing countries where clean water
supplies are low.
• Nine countries in the Middle East use >100%
of their renewable water supply (depleting
groundwater).
• Egypt depends entirely on the Nile to irrigate
crops. Ethopia controls 80% of Nile’s flow
upstream and plans to divert water for itself.
Could be catastrophic for Egypt.
Water Situation
• Saudi Arabia, have almost no water.
• They are mostly made up of desert.
• Iran has areas with access to rivers and
areas that are made up of deserts.
• Because water is in short supply in so
many parts of Southwest Asia, irrigation
has been necessary for those who want to
farm and raise animals for market.
• People must live where there is water.
North Africa / Middle East,
Mean Annual Precipitation (mm)
Less than 100
100 - 200
200 - 400
400 - 600
600 - 1,000
1,000 - 1,500
1,500 - 2,000
2,000 - 3,000
More than 3,000
Fresh Groundwater Sources
Water Pollution
Pollution
The process of refining oil also
creates pollution.
 Refining oil means making oil from
the ground ready to use in
machines.
 Refining oil produces toxic
chemicals.
 This is an enormous problem for the
environment in the Southwest Asia.

Water Pollution in the Middle
East
There are many serious environmental
problems in the Middle East.
 The water supply is very limited and
finding fresh water for farming or
drinking is a struggle throughout the
region.
 Israel has very few fresh water
sources and the Sea of Galilee
provides its primary supply of drinking
water.
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Water Pollution in the
Middle East
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Water pollution caused by oil spills from
drilling, refineries and shipping sometimes leak
into rivers and water supplies.
This impact irrigation and drinking water
because it causes health hazards.
Some countries are adjusting/adapting to the
limited amount of water resources available by
building desalination facilities to remove salt
from salt water.
Examples of Conflicts over
Water in the Middle East
Overview
Water Conflicts of the Middle East in
the Past
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Destruction of Babylonian irrigation systems as retribution
by Assyrians
Modern period:
Fashoda Crisis in southern Sudan in 1898 between France
and Britain
Water conflicts during Cold War
o Arab-Israeli War of 1967 (control over river Jordan)
o Syria and Iraq almost went to war in 1975 (Syria filled
up Lake Assad, and reduced flow of Euphrates River)
o 1990 Turkey blocked flow of Euphrates to fill up its own
reservoirs
Hydropolitics and Geopolitics
Political negotiations centred on conflicts over the shared use of
water sources
History of hydropolitics
in Nile Basin
•tensions due to the
dominance of Egypt
• civil wars in Sudan
Ethiopia
• tensions from Egypt’s
treaties dating back to the
1929 and 1959 Nile Water
Agreements.
• Upstream states
increasingly challenging
Egypt’s dominance.
•Ethiopia wants to use the
Nile River for HEP plants
and industrial development.
Tech Fix ;
The megaprojects of
dams like Aswan are
famous.
Latest high tech is the
1990sproject called
‘Tecconile’ a joint GIS
system to help monitor
and plan the basin
•The Nile is the world’s longest river , 6,500kms,
2.9km2 catchment,10% of Africa, running through
10 countries with 360 million people depending on
it for survival.
•Growing issues of desertification & salination and
increased evaporation linked to climate change
•About 85 % water originates from Eritrea and
Ethiopia, but 94 % is used by Sudan and Egypt.
Evidence of more effective co-operation
•
The Nile Basin Initiative, system of
cooperative management which started late
1990s
•
All countries except Eritrea working with
The World Bank and bi-lateral aid donors .
•
Community level involvement .
•
Managers visited Colorado River recently to
see how effectively the 1922 River Water
Compact and its ‘law of the river’ works
•
•
1996 Helsinki Rules on the Uses of the
Waters of International Rivers - regulating
how transboundary rivers and groundwater
are managed
The Nile Basin is an example that ‘Water
Wars’ may be averted
In the Northern
region: Turkey is in
dispute with Syria and
Iraq over damming
more of the Tigris and
Euphrates river
In the Western
Region: Israelis,
Syrians,
Jordanians and
Lebanese are all in
dispute over
shrinking water
supplies
A contributory factor
to the 1967 ArabIsraeli war
Water storage is in 3
huge aquifers under
the Israeli mountains
and coastal strip and
the R Jordan
Water Issues in the
Middle East
The Aral Sea, on the boundary of the Middle East
and Asia is suffering from over abstraction and
pollution
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•
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•
There are
significant
disputes over
access to water
already in this area
The combination of
a growing
population and low
seasonal rainfall
are the main
causes.
Is the energy
dependent
technological fix of
desalination the
answer?
Photo of a plant in
Dubai
Conflict over the Tigris and
Euphrates River
Euphrates River
• The Euphrates River flows through Turkey, Syria, and
Iraq.
• These countries all rely on the Euphrates for farming
and for electricity.
• The river begins in Turkey and flows to the Persian
Gulf.
• Turkey built two dams on the Euphrates in 1984 to
harness its power for electricity.
Conflict over the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers
• The Euphrates and Tigris provides water for much of
Syria and Iraq however, they begin in Turkey.
 Turkey has been
trying to build
hydroelectric dams
which would reduce
the water supply to
the other 2 countries.
 Syria built its own
dams in response
cutting off even more
water to Iraq.
Dam Buiding
• These dams make the river less powerful. Syria
also built a dam on the Euphrates.
• By the time the river reaches Iraq, it is much
smaller and less powerful than it was originally.
• Water supply in Iraq is also diminished and
farming is very difficult.
• In 1975, a war almost broke out between Syria
and Iraq over water rights.
• Fresh water supplies are
available only in small
amounts
• Dams are very controversial in
this region as they affect
multiple countries at once.
Water Conflict between Israel
and Jordan
Conflict Between Israel and
Jordan over Water Supplies
• The Jordan River is the major source of water for
both Israel and Jordan
• Early 1950s:Israel wanted to cultivate additional
desert land -> built a new pipeline to bring water
from the Jordan River to the Negev Desert
• Called the National Water Carrier, an integrated
network of pumping stations, reservoirs, canals
and pipelines
• Pipelines became the central water supply for
Israel but pipeline was a threat to Jordan’s water
supply
Nancy Tay
Conflict Between Israel and
Jordan over Water Supplies
• Downstream users in Jordan could not get the
water they needed
• Border clashes between Jordan and Israel
• 1967 Israeli – Jordanian War
• Israel won and occupied the Golan Heights
Israel also
– Gained complete control of the Upper Jordan River
– Jordan could not tap as much water from the Jordan
River
– Critical shortage of water in Jordan
Nancy Tay
Conflict Between Israel and
Jordan over Water Supplies
Israel also
• Destroyed a dam Jordan was constructing on
the Yarmouk River during the war
• Diverted large amounts of water from the
Yarmouk River into Lake Tiberias
• Obstructed all attempts by Jordan to build a
water storage system to improve its water
supply
Nancy Tay
Conflict Between Israel and
Jordan over Water Supplies
Golan
Heights
Yarmouk River
Lake Tiberias
Nancy Tay
Conflict Between Israel and
Jordan over Water Supplies
Steps Taken and Results
• Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty
– Both agree to share the Jordan River and
provide each other with water
– Both agree to build dams and create
storage facilities to hold excess rainwater
Nancy Tay
Water Issues Between the
Israelis and Palestinians
Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians
• Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinians on the West
Bank, all depend on many of the same scarce
water resources.
• Israel has the most power, so it has been most
effective in claiming water.
• Much Israeli water is also cleaned after it is used
once, and is then reused.
• Ways have to be found to make sure that
everyone has access to enough water.
Equitable Distribution
1.
River Jordan (Israel 100%; Palestine 0%)
2.
Coastal Aquifer (Israel 82%; Palestine 18%)
3.
Mountain Aquifer (Israel 83%; Palestine 17%)
4.
Other Sources (Israel 100%; Palestine 0%)
Per capita consumption (1994)
Israelis
Palestinians
Israelis consume (4 x more) per head
344m3/yr
93m3/yr
Water for Palestinian Israelis
• In Israel itself 90,000 Palestinian
Israeli citizens live in unrecognised
villages.
• Although these villages often predate the establishment of the
state of Israel, Israel refuses to
recognise their existence and
consequently denies them all
municipal services – water,
electricity, health care, education,
etc.
• In addition the land they are built
on is zoned for Jewish only
settlement so their homes are
subject to demolition.
Permits for Wells
In 1967 - 140 Palestinian wells were destroyed.
As 227,500 Palestinians have no access to piped water
and a further 190,000 have only limited access
(B’Tselem) wells are frequently vital for communities
survival.
Permits for new wells can go through up to 18 stages
of approval.
A permit is required to use your own well. Having a
permit to use your well does not assure access to it
Between 1967 and 1996 a total of 13 permits were
given to Palestinians. All were for domestic use only,
not a single agricultural well!
"A pattern starts to emerge where it appears that the
Israelis are deliberately trying to sabotage Palestinian
efforts to both access and fully develop their water
resources,“ (Oxfam).
Permits: Wastewater
More than 90 % of all West Bank wastewater is
untreated, only 1 plant is operating.
Only one in five Palestinian families in West Bank
are connected to sewage systems.
69 % use outdated septic tanks (often prohibitively
expensive to maintain and empty). Several
construction permits are required to build a new
tank.
The German government has repeatedly offered to
build fully funded sewage treatment facilities in the
West Bank, only for Israel to block their proposal.
“Palestine’s capacity to treat wastewater has been
systematically retarded by Israel,” (The World
Bank).
West Bank Barrier and Water
Issues
West Bank Water Pollution
91 mcm of wastewater is discharged
annually into the West Bank, 38% from
Israeli sources.
Jerusalem pipes half of its 35 mcm to the
east, creating the raw sewage nightmare
of Wadi Kadrun.
40 settlements east of the Green Line are
not connected to any waste water
facility. Others do not function and spill
excrement onto the Palestinian villages
below them.
“There is no real life there - it is just
waste water,” Iyad Aburdeieneh,
Palestinian Deputy Director of Friends of
the Earth Middle East.
Settler Water Use
Settlers consume 10 % of all West Bank water;
95% of settler use is agricultural.
Palestinian private and domestic use totals 63m3/yr.
Recent figures suggest settlers use could be as much as 800m3/yr.
West Bank Settlements
All settlements are illegal under
International Humanitarian Law.
Settlements are generally built
on hills close to or upon the
best wells and water supply.
Lands settlements are built
upon are ‘re-designated’ as
state lands allowing for new
wells to be drilled. The
impenetrable permit system
only applies to Palestinians.
West Bank Aquifer
aka Mountain Aquifer
WESTERN BASIN
• largest and most abundant
• lies in Israel and part of West Bank but it is recharged by
precipitation that falls in West Bank
• historically used by Palestinians, then with Jewish
migration into Palestine at end of 19th century, water
became shared
• 1920s/30s intensive exploitation of resources by Jewish
settlers which was then promoted further by Israel
between 1948 and 1967
• This continued after Six Days War and now more than 90%
of basin used by Israel
West Bank Aquifer
NORTH-EASTERN BASIN
• Also considered to be
transboundary
EASTERN BASIN
• Lies entirely within the
West Bank
• Used exclusively by
Palestinian farmers and
villagers until 1967
Mountain Aquifer Water Use
Israelis
Palestinians
Illegal Israeli settlers
73%
17%
10%
The daily per capita consumption in Israel is 242 liters in
urban areas and 211 liters in rural communities (in 2007).
By comparison, the consumption in the West Bank is 73
liters per person (in 2008). In certain districts,
consumption was as low as 37 liters (Tubas District), 44
(Jenin District), and 56 (Hebron District). (B’Tselem
(2010).
According to the Palestinian Hydrology Group, (2003) 7%
of communities subsist on 30 litres/day or less and 36% of
communities subsist on between 30 and 50 litres/day.
The World Health Organisation recommended minimum
is 100 litres/day
Similarly in Israel around 95% of irrigable land is irrigated.
In the West Bank the figure is only 25-33%. (Philip Mattar:
Encyclopedia of the Palestinians).
West Bank Aquifer
• Hydrological matters additional dimension to
conflict
• Water resources often coincide with disputed land
and are transboundary in nature e.g Israel
receives more than 50% its water from Arab
territories
• Emerged mainly since 1960s
• After 1967 war (water one of issues to initiate
war) Israeli policies and institutions extended to
occupied territories
West Bank Aquifer
• Now, Israel using nearly 80% of West Bank
waters.
• Palestinian plight further compounded by
fact they are forced to pay higher rates for
their water supply
• Huge discrepancies between water
allocated to Palestinians and Israelis
• Also further tension due to Palestine’s
claims to share of Jordan river
West Bank Aquifer
• Water needed for domestic use but also vital for
agriculture
• 80% of water resources assigned to irrigation of
crops in Israel and West Bank
• Agriculture represents 25% of Palestinian GDP.
• In Israel agriculture is 4%
BUT per capita, Israel uses 4 times more water
than Palestine annually
Water, Land Confiscation and the Wall
80% of the illegal wall is built on Palestinian
Land; so far 25 wells and cisterns and 35,000
meters of water pipes have been destroyed and
many more wells and 200 cisterns have been
isolated from their owners.
The Wall will also put much of the Western
Aquifer and on the Israeli side.
In addition around 45% of the West Bank is
designated as closed military zones, state lands
or nature reserves. These lands often correlate
with the major water resources and thereby
put these reserves beyond use for Palestinians.
Water and the Wall
• Dr Alan MacDonald – British Geological Survey
Water and the Wall
A 1999 study examining the economic viability of drilling in the West Bank found
that the most productive sites were along the 1949 armistice line. It reported:
1. Groundwater development from both the Upper and Lower Aquifers is most
economical in a narrow zone around the 1949 Armistice Line in the northern part
of the West Bank. Costs significantly increase with distance from the Armistice Line.
This is a fact not lost on those developing the aquifer—this is where most of the
operational boreholes are located
2. There are areas of the Upper Aquifer that cannot be properly developed. In fact,
only a small area around Qalqilya and Tulkarem can be developed economically.
Any slight eastern migration of the Palestinian border will have a serious effect on
the ability of the Palestinians to develop this aquifer. The separation wall, which is
being built to the east of the Armistice Line in Palestinian territory, will therefore
significantly reduce the ability of the Palestinians to develop groundwater
resources in the Western Aquifer Basin
3. Pumping costs significantly increase with distance from the Armistice Line, (Calow
et al. 2003).
The Wall and Drainage
The wall deeply affects the hydrology
of the watersheds, representing a
barrier to the storm water causing
serious flooding in adjacent villages.
In some locations the wall blocks the
passage of sewage along traditional
drainage channels. The backed up
sewage can flood homes, shops or
lands.
In Qalqilya following heavy rains in
2005 Israeli soldiers refused to open
drainage pipes. The area flooded
damaging a poultry farm, several
houses and a girls’ elementary school.
Attempted Agreements in PalestinianIsraeli Water Conflict
• Johnston Plan 1953
• The signing of the Declaration of
Principles September 1993
• Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty of
October 1994
• Oslo Accords
Gaza Strip Water Issues
The Coastal Aquifer: Gaza
The Coastal Aquifer is Gaza’s only water
supply.
Water consumption is 140 litres per
person per day.
The coastal aquifer is over-exploited and
is becoming contaminated by sea water
and raw sewage.
According to Amnesty International the
water situation in Gaza has reached
“crisis point” with between 90 and 95%
of water unfit for human consumption.
UN scientists estimate that within 15
years Gaza will have no drinkable water.
Gaza: Water and Health
The Palestinian Water Authority estimates
that almost 40% of the incidence of disease in
Gaza is related to polluted drinking water.
According to international NGOs 20% of
Gazan families have at least one child under
five who suffers from diarrhoea as a result of
polluted water.
B'Tselem reports: "A UN study published in
2009 estimates that diarrhea is the cause of
12% of children's deaths in Gaza. The lack of
potable drinking water is liable to cause
malnutrition in children and affect their
physical and cognitive development.“
In 2007 current Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu suggested that Israel could cut off
all water to Gaza.
Gaza War Damage
The 2009 Damage Assessment Report,
CMWU speaks of $5.97 million damage to
Gaza’s water and wastewater treatment
facilities and infrastructure.
In central Gaza the largest wastewater
treatment plant in the Gaza Strip was
shelled causing pipelines to rupture and
raw sewage to flood more than a square
kilometre of agricultural and residential
land.
Much of the damage was to pipelines torn
up by Israeli tanks and bulldozers. Pipes
are among the items Israeli authorities bar
from entering Gaza.
Palestinian Government sources say that
more than 800 of Gaza’s 2,000 water wells
were destroyed or rendered un-useable.
Gaza and the Siege
"Since the beginning of the siege Israel has
prohibited the entry of equipment and
materials that can be used to improve water
quality and taste, and to develop and
rehabilitate the water infrastructure and the
wastewater treatment facilities in Gaza… The
equipment needed includes water pumps,
pipes, generators, computers, building cement
and chloride,” B’Tselem.
In 2007 sewage deluged northern Gaza when
the treatment facility was shelled – 5 drowned.
More than two-thirds of Gaza's 4,000
agricultural water wells rely on fuel powered
pumps and shortages of fuel are leaving crops
to die.
Conclusions
• Issues of quantity, quality and distribution
• Water important factor in conflict in region and as
demand outweighs supply, multi-lateral agreements are
only way forward
• Water scarcity increasing year by year due to population
growth, over-exploitation and pollution
• Although water scarcity and distribution causes conflict,
maybe, the severity of the water crisis could breed
cooperation between Palestine and Israel?
Resolving the water conflict
will not bring peace to the
region. However, peace is not
attainable without a solution
to the water conflict