The issue of water is and will continue to be an important one in the Middle East. The Israeli Water Commissioner recently released a document on this issue that offers a comprehensive overview of the existing water agreements and modes for implementing them, as well as stating the principles of both sides for coping with the shortage of water, currently and in the future.

Major facts on the water sector of Israel and its neighbouring countries are also presented in this document together with a brief review of international law.

Most countries in the Middle East suffer from an ongoing shortage of water. The situation is felt most acutely in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, and is worsening due to the decrease in useable water reserves as a result of pollution and climatic changes, as well as population growth and the rising demand for water.

Cooperation based on sustainable management, the application of advanced technologies for efficient water use, and the development of new water sources could help solve the problem of water shortages in the region as a whole. Solving the problem of water scarcity in one country at the expense of another that shares a common water source is unacceptable and will only intensify tensions and difficulties.

Israel is interested in practical, imaginative and just agreements, as exemplified by the Peace Treaty it signed with the Kingdom of Jordan in 1994, with its extensive water clause, and the Interim Agreement it signed with the Palestinians in 1995. Israel is thus interested in arriving at a practical and fair permanent arrangement with the Palestinians as well as Syria and Lebanon.

Israel believes that it can transform the issue of water from a possible source of controversy and tensions with the Palestinians to a basis for understanding and cooperation. In order to achieve this, the sides must dwell less on theoretical, legal or ideological aspects relating to the sharing of existing water sources, and focus more on practical and effective planning and preparation for coordinated water resources management, aimed at increasing the availability of water and supplying it to the entire population residing between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

This document is a policy paper, prepared at the request of the Water Authority by a group of independent experts. The paper reflects the experts' opinions and will serve as the basis for continued discussions on the matters addressed therein.

Water Report 2009