In 2016, Fanack, Land Life Company (LLC) and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) initiated a pilot project to bring the innovative COCOON planting technology to Palestine.

Per capita water availability in Palestine will keep decreasing if no new water resources are developed. Since its creation in 1995, the PWA has dealt with water supplies by negotiating for a fair share of water resources with Israel. Unfortunately, the results of these efforts have not lead to any further increase in the Palestinian share from the Mountain Aquifer and the Jordan River in the West Bank or the Coastal Aquifer in Gaza. In fact, the situation has worsened over the years.

Sanitation services and water infrastructure in Gaza are in a critical state. A 2009 World Bank report stated that Gaza has a well-designed master plan for water and sanitation services. The plan identifies the need to build three new treatment plants as well as significantly expand wastewater treatment capacity. However, the same report indicated that under current closure conditions and with a deteriorating political and security situation, less than 2% of the investment programme was being implemented.

The water situation in Palestine (the West Bank and Gaza Strip) is dire. Characterized by a shortage of supply, restricted access and poor quality, it affects the quality of life, health and economic situation of every Palestinian. The water crisis in Palestine is caused not only by the area’s aridity and current agricultural practices. A difficult situation has been made worse by Israeli occupation policies and practices, which prevent Palestinians from controlling their own water resources.

All surface and groundwater resources in Palestine are shared with Israel and/or other states. Surface water sources are scarce, and include the Jordan River and a number of wadis (stream beds or ravines where water only flows seasonally and temporarily, often as flash floods after thunderstorms).

The West Bank experiences significant climatic variation within a very small area. It lies within the Mediterranean climatic zone, which is characterized by winter rain and summer drought. Only the Lower Jordan Valley has a different transitional climate, between dry steppe and the extreme desert conditions of the Dead Sea region. Rainfall is limited to the winter and spring months, mostly between October and April.

Palestine is divided into two physically separated areas known as the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, with areas of 5,661 km and 365 km respectively. In 2012, the average population density was 456 inhabitants/km² in the West Bank and 4,353 inhabitants/km² in the Gaza Strip …

The water crisis in Palestine cannot be presented in isolation from the political context, which continues to affect the economy, population, resource distribution and land ownership in the territories. However, because of the complexity of the issues and the limited scope of this report, the events that have impacted the water situation are only briefly discussed on this page …

Maps and figures