Israel's Water Policies

Abstract

During the negotiations between Egypt, Israel and the United States on the future of the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, the questions least frequently raised in the Western media have been those concerned with the resources of these territories, both human and material, and their economic importance for Israel. When attention did centre on the subject, its main focus was Sinai oil and its future availability to Israel after the signing of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Only very recently, however, was mention made of another liquid resource - water. So obscure is this subject that few outside the area realize its importance. Yet, inside Israel the debate on Israeli water policies and the possible implications for them of the proposed autonomy for the Palestinian Arab residents in the West Bank and Gaza Strip