CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2) ContEurVIII2 | Page 90

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VIII (2)
Palestinians from accessing water, and they were allowed only use water
‘for the bare minimum of domestic requirements’. 23
According to the review of the literature, the following groups of
Israeli discriminatory policies in the OPTs can be identified: the
application of military orders, strong control over drilling new wells or
pumping, water prices, violations of agreements and their irreversible
consequences on agriculture, health, and the conflict as a whole.
First, about 2.000 Israeli military orders and proclamations issued
mainly after the Six-Day War included explicit discriminatory elements
and absolute control over water resources. 24 They defined that all the
water resources of the occupied territories should be state-property and
subject to the absolute control of Israeli authorities. These military orders
also defined the development of water resources by Israel. 25
Second, Israel’s discriminatory actions are displayed by rigid
control over drilling new wells and pumping more water, as well as the
prohibition of the construction of distribution reservoirs. These
restrictions are aimed at allowing most of the groundwater resources to
serve Israeli residents and settlers. 26 Occasionally, Israeli wells are being
drilled so close to the Palestinian wells and so deep, that the groundwater
is being fully utilized by Israeli settlements. Moreover, restrictions are
also imposed on the maintenance and repair of Palestinian wells and
pipes, which often lead to the accumulation of sludge within the pipes,
wearing them out. Any renovation required Israel’s permission.
The situation is different in the case of Israel, as it is allowed
digging wells to 400-600 meters, while in case of Palestine they cannot
exceed 60-110 meters. Using advanced technologies in the pumping,
Israeli water policies are more efficient and largely surpass Palestinian
pumping and water management as a whole. 27
Third, the imbalance of power is also reflected in the price of
water. Unlike Israel, where the Ministry of Agriculture defines water
prices, this function is given to the Israeli Civil Administration for

23
Salmi, “Water, the Red Line,” 37.
E. Isaac and Jane Hilal, “Palestinian Landscape and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,”
International Journal of Environmental Studies 68, no. 4 (2011): 413-429.
25 World Bank, 2009, Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector
Development. Washington, DC, USA: The World Bank Publications,
https://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/WaterRestrictions
Report18Apr2009.pdf (accessed March 21, 2019).
26 Amnesty International, 2009, Troubled Waters: Palestinians Denied Fair Access to
Water. United Kingdom: International Secretariat, AI Publications.
27 World Bank, 2009, Assessment of Restrictions.
24 Jad
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