The political climate in the Middle East makes it impossible to discuss water without addressing the political contexts that have shaped its availability.

The shared nature of Israel’s water resources poses a particular challenge. In order for water use to become sustainable in the region, transboundary water management must be improved.

Israel has developed innovative solutions to address its water challenges. The most significant of these are desalination and wastewater reuse . . .

In 1997, the World Bank described the water situation in Gaza as an “emergency state of affairs”. Yet nearly 20 years on, the levels of pumping have only increased, pollution has worsened and large parts of the water infrastructure in the area have been damaged or destroyed. Why was Gaza’s “emergency state of affairs” left to deteriorate beyond the point of repair?

All water resources in Palestine are shared, mainly with Israel. Shared water usually needs to be governed through agreements on allocation and use between the different parties.

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.

Water quality in the West Bank is generally considered acceptable. There are no serious indications of pollution in the deep aquifers. However, there is some contamination of water in the shallow aquifers that are part of the Mountain Aquifer.

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.

The cost of the falling level of the Dead Sea has been estimated at $73-227 million/yr. The cost of producing potable water at Aqaba and transferring it to Amman is estimated at $2/m3, considerably higher than the cost of water produced through the RSDS Project (<$1.5/m3).