The Israeli-Palestinian Water Conflict

Water security in occupied Palestine is critical, and Israel’s systematic exploitation of water at the expense of Palestinian access constitutes a major obstacle to a viable two-state solution.

by Ramzi El Houry

The water situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) is critical, and the Israeli government’s systematic exploitation of this vital resource at the expense of sufficient access for the Palestinians constitutes a major obstacle to a viable two-state solution. Since its capture of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, Israel has pursued a policy through Military Orders 92 (1967) and 291 (1968) of monopolizing its access to water within the OPT and of routinely denying Palestinians the right to drill wells or repair existing ones. The Oslo II agreement signed in 1995 between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority (PA) has, in effect, institutionalized this system of exploitation, while settlements within the OPT and the 700 km (435 miles) wall that stretches within the boundaries of the West Bank (henceforth referred to as The Wall) have had the effect of creating conditions on the ground that further exacerbate the Palestinian situation.