Examples Of Water Scarcity In The Israel-Palestine Water Conflict

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In addition to the land conflict that Israelis and Palestinians are experiencing, water tension between the two parties has become a growing concern. 2 Palestinian territories, West Bank and Gaza Strip, are very dependent on Israel’s for water, as “Israel controls the greater part of the Jordan River basin and the West Bank’s aquifers” (Isaac) and because militant authorities have restricted the usage of water in many Palestine homes, causing water scarcities. The Israel-Palestine water conflict is an example of economic water scarcity because it shows how water is available locally, but it not accessible for human, institutional or financial capital reasons due to government intervention, or lack of infrastructure causing people to use rivers and lakes as their source of water.
West Bank is a land locked country located in the Middle East. The Gaza Strip borders the Mediterranean Sea-whose port is under blockade by the Israeli Navy- and is also located in the Middle East. These two countries are Palestinian territories, which are both exposed to natural hazards such as droughts. The West Bank is faced with issues such as adequacy of freshwater supply and sewage treatment. In a Palestinian village at the southernmost tip of the West Bank, Ghuwein Al Fauqa, water pipes are nonexistent, which means that the villagers must rely on water being brought in from Mekorot, an Israeli national water company. This is where economic water scarcity comes into play because water is available to the people of West Bank; it’s just being controlled by Israel. If villagers wanted to use the water for domestic purposes, they could find “yellow tankers that sell water at a price of 200 shekels per 3.75 cubic meters (roughly $55 per 1,000 gallons)....

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...an regions such as West Bank and Gaza are having trouble efficiently allocating water to its population. This is partially due to a lack of fair distribution of water between Israel and Palestine where Palestine is not receiving its compensated amount of fresh water. Palestinians are forced to illegally dig holes in order to collect water from underground because of either the high cost of water from the Israeli government or because the Israeli trucks do not bring in enough water to accommodate the large, and growing population of Palestinians. However, even though both Israel and Palestine are arguing over territory and water, the do not understand that they both have a common problem; water scarcity. It is best for the Israeli and Palestinian people that these 2 parties work together to figure out a cure or else the situation will only get worse as time goes by.

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