Obstacles to Peace: Water
May 23rd, 2007Via: BBC:
The Arab-Israeli dispute is a conflict about land – and maybe just as crucially the water which flows through that land.
The Six-Day War in 1967 arguably had its origins in a water dispute – moves to divert the River Jordan, Israel’s main source of drinking water.
Years of skirmishes and sabre rattling culminated in all-out war, with Israel quadrupling the territory it controlled and gaining complete control of double the resources of fresh water.
A country needs water to survive and develop.
In Israel’s history, it has needed water to make feasible the influx of huge numbers of Jewish immigrants.
Therefore, on the margins of one of the most arid environments on earth, the available water system had to support not just the indigenous population, mainly Palestinian peasant farmers, but also hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
In addition to their sheer numbers, citizens of the new state were intent on conducting water-intensive commercial agricultural such as growing bananas and citrus fruits.
Research Credit: PW
This article is factually untrue. It never ceases to amaze me the gullability of people to accept something as fact because it appears as an article or because it feeds their prejudicial worldview. I strongly suggest the articles author and the poster of the article to read upon the background that lead up to the Six Day war.
The Soviet Union bears the primary blame for goading Nasser into kicking out the UN force from the Sinai, ending the demilitarization of the Sinai, the military buildup there, and the closing of the straits of tiran all unprovoked actions which Nasser carried out more for prestige, power and influence in the Arab world . And then the Soveits played upon the rivalry between Syria and Egypt in order to get them to act like school yard rivals daring each other on to more provocative actions, in order to gain more influence in the Middle East and also to placate Communist Kremlin Hardliners. Syria attempted to Dam up the soures of the Jordan only to further provoke Israel. Water was never the primary issue, it was only one aspect of the complex assymetric warfare that Syria carried out against Israel as to one upmanship Nasser.
John, you left out that little part about Nasser nationalizing Egypt’s resources and removing control of the Suez Canal from colonial powers – namely, the French and the British, both of whom were allies with Israel and later joined forces to invade the Sinai Peninsula (a move coordinated WELL in advance, by the way). Nasser’s move to nationalize and kick out colonial forces is what ultimately “provoked” the conflict. The Soviets aided Egypt in building the Aswam Dam, and so, naturally, became an ally.
But hey, Israel and her big imperialist protectorate buddies all believe that they are automatically entitled to invade and forcefully exploit the resources historically belonging to other peoples, so none of this is really much of a surprise. The lack of water resources has been a real issue for Israel, particularly in the settlements areas, where Israelis are generally granted full water access rights (gotta wash those cars, you know) while Palestinians are severely restricted. The Israeli government has been drooling after the Litani River for some time, as well. It’s no secret that last summer’s war was yet another Israeli attempt to annex land and expand without really admitting to it, gaining control of the Litani in the process.
When you think of all the money pissed away on armaments Its amazing that it could all have been used to provide clean water for countless people, and truly brought some peace….. Ooops! I was being “hopeful” again. Shame on me! Now back to our regularly scheduled “programming”.