Water follies
Amnesty International, the left-wing, human rights organization, has published a glossy Report that criticizes Israel for essentially hogging the water in the area and preventing the Palestinians from getting their "fair" share. They point out that Israelis on average use ca. 3 liter of water a day while the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza use only a third to a quarter. They also claim that the 450,000 Israeli settlers on the West Bank consume as much water as the 2.4 million Palestinians. Maybe they shower more?
These conclusions are absurd for several reasons: 1. Israel is a highly developed country with an intensive agriculture, while the Palestinian areas are underdeveloped and less affluent, so the proper comparison is of Israel say with Greece or another developed "western country," while the proper comparison of the Palestinians is with Syria or Egypt, where the amounts consumed are comparable. 2. Israel has, according to the PM's office, has equal consumption of water today as 30 years ago, when the population was half what it is now, so how can that be categorized as Israel taking more than it's fair share of water. 3. Israel discovered and initiated the use of the mountain aquifer, and accordingly has legitimate rights to its water, but it provides water to the Palestinians both on the West Bank and Gaza, in excess of the requirements under the Olslo Accords. 4. Israel has extensive water conservation efforts and also produces water by desalination, while the Palestinians have not spent a minute fraction of the b$10 that they have been given in aid since the founding of the PA on water conservation and improving pipes or facilities. 4. The Report fails to acknowledge that ca. 20% of the Israeli population is Arab, and an interesting comparison would be how the water consumption of Arabs in Nazareth compare with those in Ramallah.
Unfortunately this is another Report that starts out with a political bias and not surprisingly concludes that Israel is responsible for all evil. There will alwyas be problems with water availability in this arid area. The fact that the Palestinians have failed to do anything for water conservation and are responsible for their own water predicament is hardly considered.
These conclusions are absurd for several reasons: 1. Israel is a highly developed country with an intensive agriculture, while the Palestinian areas are underdeveloped and less affluent, so the proper comparison is of Israel say with Greece or another developed "western country," while the proper comparison of the Palestinians is with Syria or Egypt, where the amounts consumed are comparable. 2. Israel has, according to the PM's office, has equal consumption of water today as 30 years ago, when the population was half what it is now, so how can that be categorized as Israel taking more than it's fair share of water. 3. Israel discovered and initiated the use of the mountain aquifer, and accordingly has legitimate rights to its water, but it provides water to the Palestinians both on the West Bank and Gaza, in excess of the requirements under the Olslo Accords. 4. Israel has extensive water conservation efforts and also produces water by desalination, while the Palestinians have not spent a minute fraction of the b$10 that they have been given in aid since the founding of the PA on water conservation and improving pipes or facilities. 4. The Report fails to acknowledge that ca. 20% of the Israeli population is Arab, and an interesting comparison would be how the water consumption of Arabs in Nazareth compare with those in Ramallah.
Unfortunately this is another Report that starts out with a political bias and not surprisingly concludes that Israel is responsible for all evil. There will alwyas be problems with water availability in this arid area. The fact that the Palestinians have failed to do anything for water conservation and are responsible for their own water predicament is hardly considered.
posted by Jack Cohen at 1:21 PM
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