Occupation of land, control of water resources and the political nature of decision-making processes make water management in Palestine highly complex.

Regarding water resources and infrastructure development and management, the Oslo Accords were intended to give Palestinians greater access to water resources. Unfortunately, under the prevailing conditions, the PWA is not able to manage and develop its own water resources.

Agriculture is considered highly important to the Palestinian economy, as it makes up 25% of exports and directly employs around 117,000 Palestinians. However, agriculture contributes only about 12% to Palestinian GDP, while continuing to be the largest consumer of water, accounting for more than 62% of total use according to the World Bank. The amount of water currently used for irrigation is about 141 MCM/yr to irrigate around 200,000 dunum (1 dunum is about 0.1 hectare) in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Most of the West Bank governorates suffer from severe water shortages. In 2011, around 88 MCM of water was supplied to the Palestinian communities for domestic use. Of this, approximately 53% was purchased from Mekorot, while the water quantities supplied from local resources reached almost 42 MCM. In 2011, the total real deficit in domestic water supply reached 62.4 MCM for the whole of the West Bank

In 2014, the total Palestinian water use was about 310 MCM for a population of 4.55 million. Of this, about 125 MCM was used in the West Bank and 185 MCM in Gaza …

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.

Deterioration of water quality in Palestine, especially in Gaza, is a key environmental challenge that requires urgent action. Groundwater resources are suffering due to infiltration of untreated wastewater from leakages in the infrastructure

To understand the complexity of these challenges, it is interesting to look at the Ain Ghazal wastewater and sewage collection and treatment system that was established by the government in 1960s near Amman.

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).

A crippled economy, poverty, high unemployment and significant dependence on international aid affect most Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza. These are all outcomes of Israel’s strict control over the movement of people, goods and water between and even within the Palestinian territories.