<h3>Introduction</h3>
As part of Israeli ambitions, and to guarantee its continued existence in the territory, it has worked to seize as much Palestinian land as possible. Israel&rsquo;s expulsion tactics encompass the symbolic and literal appropriation of the land&rsquo;s resources, to achieve the necessary conditions for the survival and continuity of the occupiers (Rama Sabanakh, 2021). Land acquisition plays a crucial role in controlling water sources. Through the expansion of the Israeli settlement in Palestinian territories like West Bank and the annexation of East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities were able to seize water resources and divert them away from Palestinian communities. By controlling the flow of water, the occupation was able to exert pressure on Palestinian communities. This control has detrimental effects on the Palestinian people and serious impacts on agriculture and health (Amnesty International, 2017; Gasteyer, et al., 2012). It also supported Israel's goal of uprooting the Palestinian people, which it has been working to achieve by building and consolidating settlements and communities, as well as the constant threat of forced evictions and demolitions.&nbsp;
This article focuses on the Israeli hydro-hegemony policies, and the use of water as a tool of coercion and control, to deprive and strip Palestinians of their identity and rights.
<h3 dir="ltr">The historical context of Israeli control over water resources</h3>
Israeli control over water resources in Palestine is not only the result of the conflict but rather a central strategy for the expansion of the Israeli occupation. Mentions of this idea can be found prior to the events that took place in Palestine in 1948. Since its early days, the Zionist movement saw control of water as a crucial means to its success. This can be seen in the draft resolution submitted by the Zionist Organization to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 when it requested recognition of the right of the Jews to rebuild their national homeland in Palestine. &ldquo;The economic life of Palestine depends on the available water supply. It is, therefore, of vital importance not only to secure all water resources already feeding the country, but also to be able to conserve and control them at their sources,&rdquo; the resolution stated (Ehrenreich, 2011).
The 1967 war changed the map of water sources in the Arab region. After occupying West Bank, Israel took control of the Jordan River, as well as the groundwater resources known as the West Bank basins, which consist of three main basins: the western basin, the northeastern basin, and the eastern basin. By occupying the Golan Heights, Israel also controlled the Lake of Galilee and the headwaters of the Jordan River (Stork, 1983; Dillman, 1989; Messerschmid, 2014). The Palestinians were immediately prevented from accessing it. Two months later, Israeli authorities seized control over all water sources after occupying West Bank in accordance with Military Order No. 92, which grants the army authority over all three water sources. In November 1967, Israel issued Military Order No. 158, which restricted the equitable distribution of water resources, and barred Palestinians from establishing any water facilities or extending the water supply without obtaining a permit from the Israeli army (Dillman, 1989; Messerschmid, 2014; Amnesty International, 2017). The occupation then worked to reduce the Palestinians&rsquo; share of water, subjecting them to intimidation and coercion. For example, the Jordan Valley fell victim to Israel&rsquo;s systematic violations since 1970, when the amounts of water allocated to agricultural villages and Bedouin areas were reduced as a result of strict restrictions on Palestinians and the transfer of water to Jewish settlements. Therefore, many villages, such as Bardala, Ein al-Beida, Al-Auja, and Jiftlik, continue to see their share of water diverted to Israeli settlements. This led to a domino effect as the water shortage stripped away their fertile and arable land and negatively impacted agricultural activities, which in turn had devastating consequences for the water and food security of these rural communities and lowered their standard of living (Amnesty International, 2017).
The water crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories is not related to the quantity of available resources, but rather to the systematic discrimination policies of the Israeli occupation over the years. Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Palestinians&rsquo; share of water was restricted. In 1995, as part of the Oslo II Accords, another agreement was signed which allocated 80% of the water resources that are present within each of the wells of the three aquifers (the eastern basin, the northeastern basin, and the western basin) for Israeli use. The remaining 20%, roughly 118 million cubic meters, were allocated to the Palestinians in accordance with the agreement (Trottier, 2007; Ehrenreich, 2011; Rudolph &amp; Kurian, 2022). This decision failed to address the issue of oversight over water resources, as Israel did not adhere to its percentage. Furthermore, the agreement enabled Israel&rsquo;s control over water resources, giving it the right to occupy more lands (Rudolph &amp; Kurian, 2022). In addition, this agreement did not define or protect the water rights of the Palestinian people, nor did it factor in the increase of Palestinian populations from 1995 to the present day. Moreover, the needs of essential sectors such as agriculture were not considered in this agreement. Israel still depletes approximately 85% of the annual amount of renewable water in groundwater basins, while the amount of water consumed by the Palestinians does not exceed 15% (ARIJ Applied Research Institute, 2022).
<h3 dir="ltr">Exercising water dominance</h3>
The concept of Hydro-hegemony is defined by Mark Zeitoun and Jeroen Warner as &ldquo;hegemony at the river basin level, achieved through water resource control strategies such as resource capture, integration, and containment.&rdquo; Where systematic control over water resources is by one party, which enhances its geopolitical and economic dominance over the other party (Zeitoun &amp; Warner, 2006).&nbsp;
Social theorist Steven Lukes takes the concept a step further, adding that hydro-hegemony is achieved by adopting the three dimensions of power, which are hard power, negotiating power, and ideological power. Hard power is the ability to influence others by force or coercion. In contrast, negotiating and ideological power is achieved through persuasion, and support of major institutions and entities (Lukes, 2005 ). Given the asymmetric distribution of power in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, we find that the Israeli occupation is dominant in all three dimensions of power. Looking at the map of water in the occupied Palestinian territories, we find that water is available from two main sources: surface water represented by the Jordan River, and groundwater represented by the coastal basin in the Gaza Strip and the three basins of the West Bank. By exercising hydro- hegemony, Israel controls more than 85% of the water resources in the occupied Palestinian territories, in exchange for limited Palestinian sovereignty (ARIJ Applied Research Institute, 2022). In light of Israeli control over the waters of the Jordan River and the basins of the West Bank, groundwater has become the primary and only source of water in the occupied Palestinian territories (ARIJ Applied Research Institute, 2022). In addition, policies and practices discriminate against the rights of the Palestinian people and their right to obtain their fill of clean and safe water. Therefore, water control is the backbone and lifeline of settler societies (Zeitoun, 2008).&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Land, water, and the Nakba&nbsp;</h3>
Control of land was crucial to access both ground and surface water. The settler communities needed access to water sources for daily life and agriculture. Once they had it, they gained control over more tracts of land throughout the inhabited plains of Palestine. Their attempts to consolidate settlement communities allowed them to attract new groups of settlers. Therefore, it is safe to say that obtaining and controlling water sources was essential for controlling the land until 1948. As a result of the three aforementioned dimensions of power utilized by the Israeli occupation, their use of water in agriculture and irrigation has developed at a faster pace than Palestinian use. In fact, by 1946, the Jewish population in the territory reached 32% and they owned 6.9% of the lands of historic Palestine. However, these lands shaped 46% of the total fertile agricultural land (Turner &amp; Shweiki, 2014; Messerschmid, 2014).&nbsp;
Before the Nakba, water was divided equally between Jewish and Palestinian settler communities, at 350 million cubic meters and 353 million cubic meters, respectively (see Figure 1). During the 1948 Nakba, 800,000 Palestinians were expelled from their lands. Figure 1 illustrates the devastating impact of the Nakba and how it empowered Israel to take control of Palestinian land, and thus magnified their control of water. It is clear that Palestinian farmers lost their land by force and coercion, and lost all access to their water resources. This may explain the sharp rise in Israeli water consumption in 1949 (as shown in Figure 1) (Turner &amp; Shweiki, 2014; Messerschmid, 2014; Rudolph &amp; Kurian, 2022).
Figure 1: Absolute consumption of blue water before and after the Nakba Per capita
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://lh7-us.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdIXYaf_WU54Gr385FhIXWJxy8S0T2e_q4N8HruQGYZDEdtDxm0flHehGuw02fGLyAyN6dX0Q1r6tS4cxRa4ADo50aBGdQHprMFRg74828jazAQ6ly8rsF1LmwcW-Az3ikwwOEUME5ECe_bnaX7ZeumSSlb9I_jw1nMXdUCwydj29ywa1y0wxs?key=bWW8Mv0IWfKBAo0HVoKdWA" alt="A graph showing the number of israeli consumptionDescription automatically generated with medium confidence" width="405" height="257">
Source: Messerschmid, C. (2014). Hydro-Apatheid and Water Acess in Israiel-Palestine: Challenging the Myths of Cooperation and Scarcity. In Turner &amp; Shweiki (Eds.), Decolonizing Palestinian political economy: De-development and beyond (pp53-76). New York. Palgrave Macmillan
<h3 dir="ltr">Unfair distribution between Palestinians and Israelis</h3>
The significant difference in the availability of water sources between the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel appears through the difference in the amount of water consumed by the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian citizens. The Israeli settler's consumption is estimated at nearly six times the amount of water used by a Palestinian citizen (Figure 2). The Palestinian per capita share of water does not exceed 80 liters per day. There are large discrepancies in water supply in the Palestinian territories, with some receiving as little as 50 liters per capita per day which is well below the internationally recommended minimum of 100 liters per person per day (Palestinian Water Authority, 2011 &amp; 2018; Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022; Applied Research Institute ARIJ, 2022).
As a result of Israel's water policy, the gap between the amount of available water and water demand has increased thanks to rising populations and urban development in the Palestinian areas. In 2019, the amount of water supplied to Palestinians in the West Bank governorates totaled about 119 million cubic meters, and in the Gaza Strip, it reached 108 million cubic meters. However, the water needs of Palestinians are estimated at approximately 149.2 million cubic meters in the West Bank and 110.6 million cubic meters in the Gaza Strip, based on the minimum recommendation of 100 liters per day. This means that the water deficit exceeded 64.0 million cubic meters and 53.8 million cubic meters in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, respectively (Palestinian Water Authority, 2018 &amp; 2011; Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2022; ARIJ Applied Research Institute, 2022).
Figure 2: The amount of water consumed by Palestinian citizens and Israeli settlers
<img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://api-aps.aucegypt.edu/uploads/tinymce/1719902200imagemceclip0.png" width="405">
Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, ARIJ Applied Research Institute.
<h3 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h3>
Since its occupation of Palestine, Israel has worked to strengthen and expand its control over water sources, by imposing restrictions on Palestinians&rsquo; water use and depriving them of their right to use the waters of the Jordan River. Israel&rsquo;s hydro-hegemony over Palestinians is also seen in the failure to implement agreements signed between the two parties. The goals stipulated in those agreements were not achieved, and the water crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories worsened. Water is the lifeline of the Israeli occupation to ensure its existence and the expansion of its settlement. As an occupation that has been proactively built on the complete appropriation of resources, specifically water resources, we refer to this appropriation as &ldquo;hydro-hegemony.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
*The article won second place in the &ldquo;Writing a Research Article on the Palestinian Issue&rdquo; competition organized by the &ldquo;Alternative Policy Solutions.&rdquo;
<hr>
References
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">Amnesty International. (2017). The Occupation of Water. Retrieved from: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/11/the-occupation-of-water/</li>
<li dir="ltr">Dillman, J. D. (1989). Water rights in the occupied territories. Journal of Palestine Studies, 19(1), 46-71. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2537245</li>
<li dir="ltr">Ehrenreich, B. (2011). Drip, Jordan: Israel&rsquo;s water war with Palestine. Harper&rsquo;s Magazine, 52-61. https://harpers.org/archive/2011/12/drip-jordan/</li>
<li dir="ltr">Gasteyer, S., Isaac, J., Hillal, J., &amp; Hodali, K. (2012). Water grabbing in colonial perspective: Land and water in Israel/Palestine. Water Alternatives, 5(2), 450.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Lukes, S. (2005). Power and the Battle for Hearts and Minds. Millennium, 33(3), 477-493.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Messerschmid, C. (2014). Hydro-apartheid and water access in Israel-Palestine: Challenging the myths of cooperation and scarcity. In Decolonizing Palestinian political economy: De-development and beyond (pp. 53-76). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. (2022). Water Tables in Palestine 2021. https://www.pcbs.gov.ps/postar.aspx?lang=ar&amp;ItemID=4467</li>
<li dir="ltr">Rudolph, M., &amp; Kurian, R. (2022). Hydro-hegemony, water governance, and water security: palestinians under israeli occupation in the jordan valley, west bank. Water Alternatives, 15(1), 73-92.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Sabanekh, R. (2021). Water Occupation: Water in the Expansionist Zionist Ideology. Retrieved from: https://publicworksstudio.com/en/water-occupation/</li>
<li dir="ltr">Stork, J. (1983). Water and Israel's occupation strategy. Merip reports, (116), 19-24. Retrieved from: https://merip.org/1983/07/water-and-israels-occupation-strategy/</li>
<li dir="ltr">Trottier, J. (2007). A wall, water and power: the Israeli &lsquo;separation fence&rsquo;. Review of International Studies, 33(1), 105-127. https://blog.mondediplo.net/IMG/pdf/Trottier-2007.pdf</li>
<li dir="ltr">Turner, M., &amp; Shweiki, O. (Eds.). (2014). Decolonizing Palestinian political economy: De-development and beyond. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Zeitoun, M. (2008). Power and water in the Middle East. Power and Water in the Middle East, 1-224.</li>
<li dir="ltr">Zeitoun, M., &amp; Warner, J. (2006). Hydro-hegemony&ndash;a framework for analysis of trans-boundary water conflicts. Water policy, 8(5), 435-460. <a href="https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-abstract/8/5/435/20292/Hydro-hegemony-a-framework-for-analysis-of-trans?redirectedFrom=fulltext">https://iwaponline.com/wp/article-abstract/8/5/435/20292/Hydro-hegemony-a-framework-for-analysis-of-trans?redirectedFrom=fulltext</a></li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;Arabic References
<ul>
<li dir="ltr">Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ). (2022). Monitoring Israeli violations of the right to water</li>
<li dir="ltr">Sanitation and its connection to other human rights. Available on:</li>
<li dir="ltr">https://www.arij.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/water_land-Evidence-based-report.pdf</li>
<li dir="ltr">Al-Yaqoubi, Ahmed and Abdel-Ghafour, Theeb. (2011). An overview of water sources in Palestine.&nbsp;</li>
<li dir="ltr">Ramallah. &nbsp; Palestinian Water Authority. Available on: https://shorturl.at/ShisK</li>
<li dir="ltr">Palestinian Water Authority. (2018). Water sources in the Gaza Strip. https://www.pwa.ps/ar_page.aspx?id=Yirhk0a2718206568aYirhk0</li>
</ul>
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