Searching for the River Jordan and the Palestinian struggle for water

The topic of water is such a vital one but is all too often overlooked when commentators discuss the endless Israel-Palestine conflict.

Access to water determines so much in this conflict and is a source of tension. But could new technologies open new possibilities?

The hydrological guide in this book is James Fergusson, who aside from being an established journalist and author, happens to be the great, great, great nephew on his father's side of Arthur Balfour, the British Foreign Secretary who authored the 1917 Balfour Declaration.

Fear not, his views are clear that a great injustice has been perpetrated on the Palestinian people who never saw even the second part of that declaration about civil and religious rights fulfilled and in water terms, have suffered decades of inequality as Israel has controlled the water systems and extracted the lion’s share for its own sole benefit, starting with billions of gallons from the sea of Galilee and massive exploitation of the West Bank aquifers.

"Whilst so many works on the water can be very scientific, data-driven, full of charts and bewildering science, Fergusson's book is a very accessible, human account of what he saw and was told"

Inspired by his first viewing of the River Jordan as a muddy trickle back in the 1980s, now so narrow you could jump across it, the author sets out to explore this historic river, known the world over not least for its myriad biblical references.

Back in the 18th century at points it was 180 yards wide but no longer. Today the Jordan has lost 98 per cent of its original flow, which has also led to the Dead Sea being 32 kilometres shorter than it used to be.

In this quest, Fergusson appreciates that the real story is not just this once great watercourse, but the whole way in which water rights and use impact the lives of millions who inhabit the lands around not least the Palestinians. This is why he lands up in Gaza, the Negev and even the Golan Heights.

Fergusson made a 1600km journey from Gaza, through the West Bank, into the Golan and then Israel including the Negev.

In doing this, the author brought up so much relevance to the future of Israel-Palestine but also tells a wealth of stories that illustrate the lives of Palestinians and Israelis.

Whilst many works on the water can be very scientific, data-driven, full of charts and bewildering science, Fergusson's book is a very accessible, human account of what he saw and was told. He explores the issue on so many fronts from the political, legal, economic, and human but also history.  

Contrary to still oft-cited Zionist propaganda that Israel made the desert bloom, different peoples have successfully exploited the water resources of this region for thousands of years. 

The Nabateans successfully used advanced irrigation techniques. The Romans had built more than 50 aqueducts in Palestine. Fergusson highlights the whole system of historic qanat that dated back centuries, maintained by Palestinians until the Nakba when 600 Palestinian villages were destroyed or abandoned and with this the ancient system was left to ruin.  

Yet Israeli scientists have also made impressive advances. They are world leaders in desalination. Israel’s five plants along the Mediterranean now produce enough deal to cater for 80 per cent of Israel’s tap water. 

Drip irrigation was another significant advance. 

All of this means that the Sea of Galilee is no longer for Israel at least the vital water source it once was, and plans are afoot to refill the sea with desalinated water. Bear in mind that British experts in the 1920s calculated that Palestine could sustain two million people. Today, nearly 15 million people live in what was mandate Palestine.

"Some 180 Palestinian rural communities [in the West Bank] have no access to running water. Israelis enjoy 240 litres of water per head per capita against 72 litres on average for Palestinians. In many places in the West Bank, this can be as low as 20"

This being the case one might wonder why water is such a vexed issue. Anyone who has been to Gaza and the West Bank knows the answer.

Fergusson highlights in detail the gross inequalities Palestinian face in access to water and the denial of what is a basic human right, water.

Gaza is a man-made water disaster zone. The water is not fit for animal consumption let alone human. The aquifer used to supply Gaza’s pre-1948 population has been wrecked largely by seawater.   

Palestinian mothers tell Fergusson how the struggle to get drinking water takes up most of their day.  Desalination could be the solution for Gaza but the Israeli blockade prevents this.

The water injustice in the West Bank is less severe but far more overt. Illegal Israeli settlements flourish with plentiful oceans of water.

Palestinians struggle here too to get drinking water let alone water to irrigate their crops. Israel prevents Palestinians from accessing their fair share of water.

Some 180 Palestinian rural communities have no access to running water. Israelis enjoy 240 litres of water per head per capita against 72 litres on average for Palestinians. In many places in the West Bank, this can be as low as 20.

Fergusson also points out how counterproductive the Israeli treatment of Palestinians is. The authorities in Gaza are unable to treat the strip’s sewage so around 90 million cubic metres of raw sewage land in the Mediterranean every day where the currents take it up the coast to Israeli ports and beaches.

The desalination plant at Ashkelon has had to close on numerous occasions as a result. As water is no respecter of borders and fences, Israeli communities adjacent to Gaza increasingly find their water sources contaminated from Gaza.

Can the water challenges be resolved? Much of the challenge today is political.

Israeli water experts consistently focus on technical solutions to water shortages and quality.

They cannot understand why their Palestinian counterparts are not so excited.

For Palestinians, it is about rights. Israeli leaders refuse any acknowledgement of their national and territorial rights and water is caught up in that.

For Palestinians, the first stop must be to acknowledge their right to the West Bank and through that their share of the area’s water. On this Ferguson is clear. Technology may achieve much but it is no substitute for a rights-based settlement, with a right to water at the heart of any solution.

Chris Doyle is the director of CAABU (Council for Arab-British Understanding). He is a regular opinion writer and commentator on the Middle East and has organised and accompanied numerous British parliamentary delegations to the region.

Follow him on Twitter: @Doylech