A Palestinian Socio-Legal Perspective on Water Management in the Jordan River—Dead Sea Basin

Abstract

The dilemma of water in the Jordan River Basin, as an element of conflict and a factor for cooperation, continues to occupy researchers and professional water experts in the region and globally. The sheer severity of the water crisis, the stagnation in water negotiations, the general deterioration of the political situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the lack of cooperation by Israeli water institutions and the weakness of the Palestinian water institutions are all factors that dampen aspirations for finding acceptable solutions to this seemingly endless problem. Given that water is a fundamental component of human life, this conflict has clear social and economic implications for the welfare of Palestinians. It also has legal consequences that manifest themselves in the continued violations of Palestinian rights in equitable utilization of the shared resources. While the picture is certainly gloomy, a few genuine efforts to put an end to this dilemma are quite noteworthy. From the point of view of this paper, prodigious collective efforts are needed for initiatives to bear fruit. Piecemeal approaches are no longer viable, and there exists the pressing need to find a more holistic and integrated approach. The main pillars for this approach are confidence and trust among the parties. Once these are in place, a common vision for long-term involvement and commitment to resolve the conflict can be put in place and further operationalized. To this end, serious assessments of the current initiatives must be conducted with a view to establish a responsive vision, a strategic plan and the resources needed for future interventions to resolve the conflict