ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN WATER ISSUES - PREPARING FOR BILATERAL WATER NEGOTIATIONS AND THE TRILATERAL WATER WORKING GROUP MEETS

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TAGS: SENV, PREL, EAGR, EINV, EAID, IS, KWBG

SUBJ: Israeli-Palestinian Water Issues - Preparing for Bilateral

Water Negotiations and the Trilateral Water Working Group Meets



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Summary

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1. (SBU) During his December 4-7 visit to Israel, NEA Senior S&T

Advisor Charles Lawson discussed a range of water and environment

issues with senior Israeli and Palestinian water/environment

officials. Regarding upcoming Israeli-Palestinian bilateral water

negotiations, both Palestinian Water Authority Director Fadel

Ka'awash and Israeli National Water and Sewage Authority Director

Uri Shani in separate meetings told Lawson that they still are

waiting for the go ahead from their respective leaderships to form

water negotiating teams. While there is real potential for

relatively quick progress in water negotiations, both Ka'awash and

Shani expressed great concern that no progress will be made if the

Negotiation Support Unit has the lead on water for the PA. End

Summary.



2. (SBU) Lawson chaired a meeting of the U.S.-Israel-Palestinian

Trilateral Water Working Group (TWWG) in Tel Aviv on December 5

(Memorandum of this meeting repeated in para 6 below). Shani and

Ka'awash noted a growing shortage of natural water resources due to

both increasing demand and climatic factors. Shani and the Israeli

team stressed the linkage between water supply and the collection,

treatment, and reuse of wastewater. Both sides agreed that the

Hebron Wastewater Project, which the USG stopped when the HAMAS

government assumed power, should be re-started as quickly as

possible, and they urged the USG to fund the project again. The

Palestinian delegation stressed the need for greater supplies from

Israeli sources, and asked the Israeli delegation if the Gaza

connector project to supply five million cubic meters of water from

Israel to Gaza could be restarted. Progress on implementing the

priority water projects identified at the July 19 TWWG meeting (Ref

A) was noted, and the access of materials and spare parts for such

projects has improved, parties agreed. End Summary.



Bilateral Water Negotiations - Great Potential for Progress, but Its

Not a Given

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3. (SBU) In separate meetings on December 4, Lawson discussed

upcoming bilateral water negotiations with Palestinian Water

Authority (PWA) Director Fadel Ka'wash and Israeli National Water

and Sewage Authority (INWSA) Director Uri Shani. When queried, both

Ka'awash and Shani said that they had not yet been given a mandate

by their political leaders to form water negotiating teams.

Ka'awash expressed concern about the possibility that the

Negotiation Support Unit (NSU) will be given the lead on water

negotiations. The NSU's approach to water, he said, emphasizes

legal rights and entitlements under international law for riparian

states. Ka'awash noted that if he and the PWA lead the water

negotiations for the PA, he will emphasize practical solutions to

the water problems, rather than take "the more academic and

legalistic NSU approach." He noted that the PWA's responsibility

managing Palestinian water resources and its long, productive

working relationship with Uri Shani and the INWSA, should facilitate

the negotiations. In a separate meeting with Lawson, Shaddad

Attili, NSU water attorney/advisor, stressed the need for

reallocating resources Israel presently uses, chiefly the mountain

aquifer and the Jordan River. Attili expects any bilateral

negotiation to tackle the reallocation issue first, and only then

pursue the matter of new resources and access to desalination

facilities.



4. (SBU) Shani told Lawson that even though the GOI has not yet

named him to lead the Israeli water negotiating team, he expects to

receive that mandate and is already making preparations for the

negotiations. (Note: Former Israeli head water negotiator Noah

Kinnarti told Lawson that Shani asked Kinnarti to be an advisor on

the Israeli negotiating team. End note.) Shani expressed concern

about whether or not Ka'awash will be given the lead of the

Palestinian water negotiating team and, if he is given the lead, how

much real authority he will have. Shani, like Ka'awash, expressed

concern about the possibility that the NSU could play a major role

in the negotiations.





Report of the Trilateral Water Working Group Meeting of December 5,

2007

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6. (SBU) Begin text of TWWG Meeting Report



Memorandum



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The U.S.-Palestinian-Israeli Trilateral Water Working Group (TWWG)

met at the offices of USAID in Tel Aviv on December 5, 2007. A copy

of the agenda and participant list is attached to this memorandum.



Welcome & U.S. Presentation



The U.S. Delegation, led by NEA Senior S&T Advisor Charles Lawson,

welcomed the participants and underscored the USG's continued

commitment to helping the two parties on water issues. The recently

completed Annapolis Summit saw Israeli and Palestinian leadership

agree to reopen Final Status talks, which will presumably include a

negotiating group on water issues. Progress on water issues could

therefore make a key contribution to progress in the overall

Annapolis process, Lawson noted, making the TWWG's work even more

important. The Israeli and Palestinian delegations both recognized

the value of the TWWG and its work in facilitating progress on water

issues. The JWC has met several times since the July TWWG to

address specific issues.



Status of Water Resources



Israeli National Water and Sewage Authority Director Uri Shani

reviewed the status of the region's water resources, observing that

low rainfall in the previous several years has left Eastern and

Western aquifers and Lake Tiberias all at historically low levels.

These low levels translate to a shortage over the last several years

of approximately 200 million cubic meters (MCM) out of a shared

natural water storage capacity of about 500 million cubic meters

(MCM). Lake Tiberias is only 50 cm above the lowest level at which

Mekorot's pumping station intake can operate. This is one reason

the Israeli government has decided on investments to increase

desalination capacity from 130 MCM per year to 500 MCM per year.



Head of the Palestinian Water Authority Fadel Ka'wash agreed that

the water situation was worsening, noting a big drop in wells in

Hebron and lower per capita availability throughout Palestinian

areas. Ka'wash stressed the importance of Israeli cooperation on

outstanding water projects in the West Bank and Gaza, as over 12

percent of the West Bank's population still lack direct access to

water. Gaza water resources are in a particularly bad situation, he

noted, as the Gaza residents extract between 155 and 165 MCM/year

(the sustainable recharge is only approximately 55-60 MCM/year).

Ka'wash noted that there are over 4,000 illegal wells are in use in

Gaza. This can be expected to lead to higher salinity in the ground

water in future years. Ka'awash urged that a planned connection to

Gaza from the Israeli National Water Carrier be revived, as this

would provide an additional 5 MCM annually.



The Israeli delegation confirmed that Mekorot presently supplies

some water to the Palestinian Water Authority and encouraged better

water management. They noted it was the political situation in

Gaza, not technical problems, that had stopped progress on the Gaza

connector. Ka'awash asked Shani if he would check to see if the GOI

leadership would be willing to re-start the Gaza project. Shani

also outlined the risk to the shared aquifers by Palestinian

overpumping and lack of West Bank wastewater treatment capacity.

Israel currently receives and treats effluent originating in the

Hebron region - most of which comes from Israeli settler areas. The

Israeli delegation suggested that any new freshwater supply project

for the PWA be linked to a counterpart waste water treatment

project. This would both protect the shared resources and address

the supply needs by encouraging treated water reuse.



USAID Deputy Director David Harden informed the meeting that the

funds originally planned for the Hebron Wastewater Treatment project

had been reprogrammed for humanitarian need projects during the

Hamas government period. It is unlikely that funding for this

Hebron project will be available in 2008 or 2009. Harden noted that

the priorities for USG assistance had been decided in consultation

with the Palestinian leadership. Both Israeli and Palestinian

delegations expressed disappointment upon hearing this news and

requested that the United States consider the Hebron wastewater

treatment project a priority for USG funding in the coming year.



Priority Projects Moving Forward



The Palestinian Delegation observed that a number of the immediate

need, small water projects detailed by the August 14, 2007, Joint

Working Committee has moved forward and some have been completed.

Coverage of West Bank water needs varies greatly by region. Tulkarm

and Jenin in the north are poorly served, while Bethlehem and Hebron

in the south are better served. The Ramallah region population is

growing rapidly, the PWA head noted, moving from 100,000 to 250,000

in recent years, with current supply from Israel being approximately

32,000 m3 daily while the needs have increased to approximately

42,000 m3.



TEL AVIV 00003595 003 OF 004







Both parties believe access to spare parts and piping for water

projects has improved. However Ka'awash noted that the PWA

submitted a list to the JWC of spare parts and equipment needed for

some 133 wells in Gaza. Currently, 8 wells of those wells are out

of operation due to lack of parts, and the PWA expects that more and

more wells will become inoperable unless the spare parts are

available. The Israeli delegation claimed that COGAT was approving

materials rapidly when well documented. The Israeli delegation

agreed to offer a full report on implementation of the JWC projects

at the next TWG.



Status of Gaza Bank Wastewater Treatment



All three parties were pleased that the final plans for the North

Gaza Emergency Project of USAID had been approved by the IDF and

COGAT on December 4. If all equipment is, in fact, allowed to enter

Gaza, the U.S. Delegation said the project should be completed in

six weeks. This project, along with a complementary World Bank

project, will help avoid effluent reservoir failure during the rainy

season that has just started. COGAT had received and approved the

lists of materials for access. The U.S. noted that it is concerned

for the safety of the contractors who will build the new

infiltration pond, as there have been numerous fence line shooting

incidents in recent months.



Ka'awash said he remains concerned about delays in implementing the

World Bank North Gaza Project. Pipes for the WB project are

procured in France, which causes delays in shipment and transfer to

Gaza. With up to four months to import and install the piping, he

thought June 2008 is an optimistic date for the availability of the

new World Bank emergency wastewater handling capacity. His

implication: the USAID interim project may be needed beyond the June

2008 target date for when the USAID constructed pond would no longer

be needed.



Other Issues



Ka'awash suggested trying to identify a neutral location with easier

access for both Israelis and Palestinian to facilitate access for

the two parties' regular meetings and future negotiations.

Regarding the West Bank, Ka'awash wanted to see the $4 million North

Nablus project funded, and see the eight wells now sitting idle due

to lack of spare parts back on-line. Organizing better training for

PWA is a crucial need, Ka'awash said; a venue on the border, nearer

to Ramallah, easier for PWA personnel to access would be very

helpful. Better training and better information would bring the two

sides together.



Next Meeting



The parties agreed that holding TWWG meetings on a quarterly basis

would be useful. Accordingly, the next Trilateral is expected in

mid-March. Israeli and Palestinian Delegations agreed to seek to

establish more regularized schedules for the holding of Joint

Technical Committee (JTC) and JWC meetings.



End of text of TWWG Report.





Other Issues

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7. (SBU) In a December 6 meeting, GOI Director General of the

Ministry of Environmental Protection (MOEP) Shai Avital told Lawson

that there needs to be closer coordination between the MOEP and the

PA. The shared aquifers are just one circumstance of the

interlinked policy reality. Plans to clean up the Kidron River will

only be possible with PA cooperation he said, as will be cleaning up

the pollution reaching Israel from Hebron. Avital urged the USG to

fund the Hebron Wastewater Treatment project. Responding to the

GOI's request for the USG to fund the Hebron waste treatment

facility as a priority, Lawson stressed to Avital that if this

project is a high priority for the GOI, this message must conveyed

by the GOI leadership. Uri Shani, who attended the meeting with

Avital, said he was thinking that the GOI could address Palestinian

sewage problems by building plants to treat their wastewater, with

the PA then being charged for such services through the revenues

that Israel now collects on behalf of the PA. Shani emphasized

again that all future Palestinian water supply projects must be

linked with wastewater treatment projects to properly treat the

additional supply.



8. (SBU) Avital also observed that environmental issues were closely

linked to territorial delineation; oversight and legal enforcement

of environmental regulation depended on clear jurisdiction. Shani

profoundly stated that boundaries not well defined are well



TEL AVIV 00003595 004 OF 004





polluted. In the absence of clear responsibility, pollution

increases and enforcement is weak. Lawson took note of this

concern, and said environmental enforcement merits consideration as

a possible topic for a future regional environmental training

program.



9. (U) Consulate General Jerusalem cleared this message.



Jones