Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TELAVIV2469
2006-06-22 13:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tel Aviv
Cable title:  

INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTRY COOPERATING WITH

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002469 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2016
TAGS: SENV ENRG PREL KPAL KWBG JO IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT: INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTRY COOPERATING WITH
PALESTINIANS ON WATER, CONTINUES TO SUPPORT RED-DEAD
FEASIBILITY STUDY


Classified By: Economic Counselor William Weinstein, reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002469

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2016
TAGS: SENV ENRG PREL KPAL KWBG JO IS ISRAELI PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
SUBJECT: INFRASTRUCTURE MINISTRY COOPERATING WITH
PALESTINIANS ON WATER, CONTINUES TO SUPPORT RED-DEAD
FEASIBILITY STUDY


Classified By: Economic Counselor William Weinstein, reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d)


1. (C) Summary: Israel continues to supply 43 million cubic
meters of water to Palestinians on the West Bank, and Israeli
Water Commission officials communicate daily with Palestinian
Water Authority counterparts on "emergency and humanitarian
issues." GOI officials support donor projects to reduce
uncontrolled sewage in Palestinian areas. GOI officials also
want the World Bank to proceed with a planned feasibility
study of the proposed Red Sea-Dead Sea water transfer
project. NGOs are concerned about the environmental impact
and believe that increased water flows to the Dead Sea should
come from restoration of the Lower Jordan River.
Nonetheless, they do not oppose the pending World Bank study.
Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Infrastructure Minister
Ben-Eliezer have clashed over competing visions of the
project. Israel is talking with Azerbaijan and Turkey about
its long-term energy and water needs. End summary.

-------------- --------------
Israeli Officials Seeking to Maintain Cooperation on Water
-------------- --------------


2. (C) NEA Senior S&T Advisor Charles Lawson and ESTH Officer
met with Infrastructure Ministry Director General (DG) Eli
Ronen in Tel Aviv June 15 to discuss water and related
issues. Ronen was accompanied by his senior advisor and
officials of the Israeli Water Commission. Ronen said that
Infrastructure Minister Ben-Eliezer had received a letter
from the office of Palestinian Authority (PA) President Abbas
suggesting that Abbas' office might be able to handle water
dealings with Israel. Ben-Eliezer was looking into the
matter. In the meantime, Israel was continuing to supply 43
million cubic meters of water (on an annual basis) to
Palestinians on the West Bank, and the Water Commission
official in charge of West Bank activities was in daily
communication with the head of the Palestinian Water
Authority regarding "emergency and humanitarian issues."

Ronen and the Water Commission representatives noted that
Israel was supporting donor projects for sewage treatment in
the Palestinian territories. They asked that the U.S.
maintain funding for the suspended Hebron wastewater
treatment project and restart the project as soon as possible.

--------------
Israel Wants Red-Dead Study to Go Forward
--------------


3. (C) Ronen said that Israel wants the World Bank to sponsor
the pending feasibility study of the proposed Red Sea-Dead
Sea water transfer project. As the terms of reference for
the study include the Palestinians as prospective
beneficiaries of the project, during a June 14 meeting in
Amman, Minister Ben-Eliezer and Jordanian Water Minister
Zafer Alem discussed the possibility of the office of
President Abbas being the point of contact for the study.
According to Ronen, Ben-Eliezer agreed to bring the idea to
the cabinet for consideration. In any case, study funds
would go to international consultants and not to the PA,
Ronen said. NGO representatives told Lawson in a meeting in
Jerusalem June 14 that they are concerned about the
environmental impact of the project and believe that
increased water flows to the Dead Sea should come from
restoration of the Lower Jordan River. They and Ministry of
Environment officials who saw Lawson in Tel Aviv June 15
expressed interest in a possible parallel World Bank study on
ways to rehabilitate the Lower Jordan River and particularly
the issue of how to restore previous water flows. An aide to
Shimon Peres told Lawson June 15 that Peres and Ben-Eliezer
had clashed over the scale of desalination to be included in
the Red-Dead project and over which of the two should be
engaging with the Jordanians over Red-Dead (septel).

-------------- --------------
Israel Planning for Long-term Energy and Water Supplies
-------------- --------------


4. (C) Ronen said Ben-Eliezer was discussing a possible
feasibility study for a water pipeline from Turkey to Israel
with his Turkish counterpart. They had also talked about a
possible combined future water, oil, gas and electricity
"corridor," including the possibility of future Turkish water
supplies not only to Israel, but also for the Palestinians,
Jordan, the Sinai and possibly Lebanon. Ben-Eliezer had
visited Baku recently, and discussed the possibility of
tanker shipments of oil from Azerbaijan to Ashkelon and from
there by pipeline to Eilat for transshipment to East Asian
markets.

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