CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 104

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
dryness and drought, the water sector heavily suffers. Third, it is not the
Palestinians’ right to have certain authority over water resources in the
OPTs, but it is a result of Israel’s benevolence towards the Palestinians.
Conclusion
Generally, three types of crises related to water in the region of
Middle East have been identified: the lack of quantity, the lack of quality,
and the lack of equity. It is clear that the abovementioned water-related
problems can be the result of both environmental and natural
circumstances, as well as the result of intentional actions. In this regard,
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unique, as it includes all the
aforementioned issues simultaneously.
The research question posed at the beginning of this article was
aimed at revealing the role of water in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is
clear that water plays a decisive role both in terms of the protraction of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and well as in its ultimate reconciliation.
Indeed, the continuous disputes over water, as well as constant Israeli
discriminative operations connected with other issues, such as high
population growth in the OPTs, the harsh conditions of the region, as well
as Israeli illegal land confiscations, hinder any positive movement on the
path to reconciliation and the establishment of a final peace between two
parties in general. Water is a “highly politicized” factor in the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, and it serves as a tool in the hands of Israel to
achieve its far-reaching goals, such as the gradual expulsion of the
Palestinians from these territories.
The well-established Israeli hydro-hegemony over the Palestinians
cannot be denied. Its supremacy in terms of economy, military,
technology, education level, as well as creating successful perceptions
amongst others allows it to override the Palestinians and gradually
increase its supremacy by dictating the rules of the game.
In sum, it should be pointed out that from the discussion above, it
becomes clear that the UN warning of 2013 should be taken into
consideration seriously, because as a result of Israel’s actions there are
grave violations of human rights, irreversible health consequences,
serious economic, social, political problems, and last but not least
constant deadlock regarding the resolution of the conflict.
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