6 August 2007
MEDIA RELEASE
WORLD BANK TO HOLD FIRST SET OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ON "RED DEAD" CANAL PROJECT
On Sunday, August 12th, the World Bank will hold its first public hearing on the
Terms of Reference of the Feasibility Study for the "Red Dead Conduit" project.
Continue reading "World Bank to hold public hearing on Red Dead Canal" »
Haaretz
By Michael J. Caduto
News from the Middle East usually describes conflicts and their root causes in
politics, religious fundamentalism and the struggle between Israelis and
Palestinians for a homeland. Threats to peace and security are indeed a
backdrop for daily existence, but that is only part of the story.
Haaretz
August 2, 2007
By Nadav Shragai
Avri Ran is a leader of the Hilltop Youth movement from the West Bank settlement of Itamar. He has been acquitted of charges of assaulting an Israeli Arab and a left-wing activist, and residents of the Arab village of Yanun accuse him of harassing villagers. But Ran's right-wing activities are not his only claim to fame: He is also one of the largest suppliers of organic eggs in the country.
August 12, 2007
see http://www.foeme.org/events.php?ind=42 for hot links below.
On August 12, 2007, The World Bank has scheduled a public hearing on the issue
of the Terms of Reference for the Feasibility Study of the "Red Dead Canal".
Continue reading "Red Dead Canal / World Bank Public Hearing" »
Jerusalem Post
Jul. 24, 2007
RORY KRESS
Gidon Bromberg, founder and Israel director of Friends of the Earth Middle East, loves his job not just because it allows him to fight for the environment, but because it gives him an opportunity to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians.
Continue reading "Cross-border efforts focus on greening Wadi Abu Nar" »
The Jerusalem Post
Jul. 19, 2007
MATTHEW KRIEGER
The long awaited multi-billion dollar deal with the British energy company BG Group will be signed "imminently," a high-ranking official in the National Infrastructure Ministry told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Continue reading "Exclusive: Israel-BG deal 'imminent,' official says" »
Ma'an
July 20, 2007
تكبير الخط تصغير الخط
Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israel and the Palestinian Authority are reportedly in talks over signing the largest mutual economic agreement since the Oslo Accords, the Israeli Maariv daily reported on Friday.
Continue reading "Israel and PA preparing to sign $4 billion gas deal, Maariv reports" »
Peres Center For Peace
In June 2007, within the framework of the "Olives – The Symbol of Peace" project, which is a sub-project of the Peres Center's "Integrated Crop Management" program, the Peres Center, together with the General Council of Marseilles, France, held a 3-day Israeli-Palestinian-French workshop which focused on the improvement of olive oil quality and marketing techniques.
Continue reading "Olive Oil Workshop in Provence, June 2007" »
The Jerusalem Post
Jul. 19, 2007
RORY KRESS,
The mayors of Palestinian Baka a-Sharkiya (East Baka) and Israeli Baka al-Gharbiya (West Baka)-Jat signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday to protect Wadi Abu Nar, a stream that runs through both municipalities.
Continue reading "Exclusive: Palestinian, Israeli mayors battle pollution" »
MA'AN
July 19, 2007
JERUSALEM, 19 July 2007 (IRIN) - Two mayors - one Israeli and one Palestinian - signed a joint declaration on 19 July agreeing to improve cooperation between their towns in water and waste management as well as conservation.
Jordan Times
July 16, 2007
By BEN WINOGRAD, Associated Press Writer
SHEIK HUSSEIN VILLAGE Jordan
For years, Ibrahim Alayyan watched in frustration as rats ravaged the date crop at his lush family farm.
Having no luck with pesticides, the retired Jordanian heart surgeon was only too eager to try a pest control agent widely used in fields just across the Jordan River in Israel owls.
Haaretz
July 12, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
The Civil Administration and the Water and Sewage Authority recently approved the construction of a pipe to channel purified sewage to irrigate agriculture in the Jordan Valley.
But environmental experts say the move will prevent an overall solution to the problem of the flow of sewage from Jerusalem and Bethlehem into the Kidron Stream toward the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea.
Continue reading "Pipe to channel purified sewage for farming, but problems abound" »
Al Hayat
July 2, 2007
Walid Khadduri
Beirut - Natural gas production and export in the Mediterranean waters off of the coast of Gaza strip bring an added dimension to the ongoing conflict between Fatah and Hamas over the political control of the strip.
The Gaza marine field was discovered in the late 90's by the British Gas company BG Group, but its development was belated on account of the political complications and issues related to the Palestinian cause and the Israeli debate on the safety of gas installations from an Arabic source.
Continue reading "The Conflict in Palestine and its Repercussions on Gaza Gas Export to Israel" »
Jordan Times
July 8, 2007
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN - Jordan will begin supplying the West Bank city of Jericho with all electricity needs at preferential prices before the end of this year, an official said on Saturday.
Israel 21c
July 08, 2007
DEMOCRACY
By Michelle Levine
They may come from worlds apart, but leading political and environmental figures from Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority have found a common theme to bring them together - the Great Rift Valley.
The Great Rift Valley is a series of geological rifts stretching 4,000 miles, from southern Turkey to Zimbabwe, running through Syria and Lebanon, along the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Eilat and the Red Sea until Kenya, at which point it splits into two branches. Five hundred million birds use the valley route to migrate twice a year from Europe to Asia.
Continue reading "Environmental concerns bring Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians together" »
The Palestine Center
Edited transcript of a presentation by members of the Negotiation Support Unit of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department on Water
“For the Record” No. 280 (27 June 2007)
At a 14 June 2007 Palestine Center briefing, Dr. Shaddad Attili, Mr. Fuad Bateh and Mr. John Murray of the Negotiations Support Unit of the PLO’s Negotiations Affairs Department, proposed a positive-sum approach for the resolution of the water crisis in the Middle East. As for the allocation of water, both on the political and topographical level, they maintained that an equitable allocation of water is not only essential for the establishment of a viable Palestinian state but will also help restore relations with Israel and its neighboring countries. They also emphasized the dire need for clean water in Gaza and the creation of a much needed desalinization plant. Ultimately, the question of a viable and sustainable Palestinian state and the long-term interests of all the water-sharing parties—Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrian and Palestine—depends on a sound and just resolution to the water conflict.
Continue reading ""Palestinian Water Crisis: Bilateral and Regional Perspectives"" »
Jordan Times
June 25, 2007
AMMAN (AFP) --
Eleven firms have qualified to submit a feasibility study to build a canal which would save the slowly evaporating Dead Sea by replenishing it with water from the Red Sea, an official said Monday.
The 25-year project to build a canal linking the two seas would also solve a severe water shortage in the region of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, officials said.
Jordan Times
Jun. 18, 2007
Paul Tate
AMMAN -- A lack of cooperation and political will among regional states is hampering efforts to address the worsening ecological condition of the Jordan River, environmentalists said on Sunday.
According to Friends of the Earth Middle East, a regional environmental organisation of Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians, poor regional water management has led to the complete demise of one of the world's most famous rivers.
Continue reading "Jordan River among world's 100 most endangered sites" »
Haaretz
June 17, 2007
By Gideon Levy
"Sof haderekh: mota shel medina" ("The End of the Road: Death of a Country") by Tzur Shizaf, Am Oved, 314 pages, NIS 79
To live in an Arab house in Jaffa and claim to be a leftist; to suspect all of your Arab neighbors of having collaborated with the burglars who broke into your house and yet consider yourself enlightened; to think that concrete and asphalt are more destructive than fire and explosives; to equate damage done by the separation fence with that caused by Highway 6; to have more compassion for the eastern strawberry tree, the plane tree, the oak tree and the noble, scented laurel than for residents of this country, who may not be as noble or sweet scented - and then to write a book about all of it in bad Hebrew.
Jordan Times
June 7, 2007
By Hana Namrouqa
AMMAN -- Demographic changes and migrations have created an imbalance between available water resources and demand, Minister of Water and Irrigation Thafer Alem said on Wednesday.
In his remarks at the opening session of a regional forum on local water governance entitled "Water is everybody's business," Alem said per capita water supply in 1943 totalled 3,400 million cubic metres annually, but following demographic changes as a result of regional wars and crises, an individual's share of water is now 146 cubic metres.
Continue reading "Pilot water-harvesting techniques to be adopted" »
Haaretz
June 12, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
Up until a year and a half ago, the vast majority of visitors to Canada Park, one of the most popular hiking and picnic sites on the way to Jerusalem, had no idea that the park was built on the ruins of three Palestinian villages whose inhabitants were forced to leave in the wake of the Six-Day War. It was only after the Keren Kayemet LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund agreed to the demands of the Zochrot non-governmental organization and posted signs in the park about two villages, Yalu and Emmaus, that their existence first became known to hikers. But since their posting, someone has already made sure to tear down one of the signs and vandalize the other.
Continue reading "Out of sight maybe, but not out of mind" »
The Jerusalem Post
Jun. 6, 2007
Talia Dekel
The European Union is working to promote more efficient usage of energy in the Middle East, which will in turn strengthen ties between Israel, Jordan and the EU, Ambassador Ramiro Cibrian said Tuesday.
The ambassador, who heads a permanent delegation of the European Commission in Israel, spoke at a conference aimed at turning sustainable energy into "a catalyst for regional economic development."
Continue reading "EU urges regional cooperation on energy use" »
Haaretz
June 5, 2007
By Dan Rabinowitz
Forty years after June 5, 1967, a variety of symposia, conferences and discussions are being held that stress the malignant effect of the occupation - on the Palestinians, of course, but also on morality, society, solidarity and politics in Israel. A few weeks ago, when those who have fond memories of 1967 tried to celebrate what they call "the reunification of Jerusalem," the result was a limp demonstration of nostalgic blasts on trumpets. It is good that this week, sane, critical voices are being heard. This will help many people to identify, in anger and anxiety, the depressing future that the occupation is passing down to us for years to come as well.
Jordan Times
June 6, 2007
AMMAN -- A regional forum on local water governance entitled, "Water is everybody's business" opens today.
The Euro-Med Participatory Water Resources Scenarios (EMPOWERS) Partnership, supported by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, is holding the forum under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah.
Ma'an News Service
June 5, 2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - On the occasion of World Environment Day, celebrated every year on 5 June since 1972, when the United Nations declared World Day at the opening of the Stockholm conference on human environment, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) has issued a press release on the state of the Palestinian environment.
Population density
Continue reading "On World Environment Day, PCBS reveals the state of the Palestinian Environment" »
The Jerusalem
May. 30, 2007
YORAM DORI
It is said of Israel that she is a mini-cosmos. A country of immigrants hailing from more than 120 countries: fair-skinned and dark-skinned, Chinese and Indian, haredim and atheists. An 80 percent Jewish majority that lives alongside an Arab minority, mostly Muslims, an island in an Islamic sea in the throes of a power struggle between Shi'ite and Sunni hegemony, and counting a population of 7 million spread over an area (sovereign Israel) that measures a mere 20,770 kilometers.
Jordan Times
May 23, 2007
Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN -- A four-year project implemented by Jordan in cooperation with CARE International, has been educating citizens since 2003 on the best practices in water management to provide sustainable livelihoods for Jordan Valley communities.
The Euro-Med Participatory Water Resources Scenarios Project (EMPOWERS), which concludes next month, also worked to bridge the communication gap between government officials and local citizens on key issues of concern, such as poverty and unemployment.
Continue reading " 'EMPOWERS' qualifies citizens for better water management" »
Jordan Times
May 26, 2007
AMMAN (JT) — The UNESCO Amman office, in collaboration with the Swedish-based NGO Life-Link Friendship-Schools (www.life-link.org), brought together school teachers from different countries in the region in a two-day workshop this week.
Continue reading "Conference involves schools in environmental programmes" »
Middle East Times
May 26, 2007
Marian Houk
JERUSALEM -- Movement was reported this week on an Israeli government decision to authorize a long-term agreement to purchase gas from Gaza's offshore wells at market price from the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli cabinet made the decision to go ahead with negotiations to buy Palestinian gas on April 29.
The exploitation of the offshore gas field is expected to generate much-needed revenue for the Palestinians. Some analysts argue, however, that the main advantages of the deal are not only financial - it is hoped that the mutual dependency that will be created by the deal will help create an atmosphere more conducive to peace.
Middle East Times
May 27, 2007
Energy Watch
By Andrea R. Mihailescu
UPI
BG faces criticism for bid to sell Palestinian gas to the Israelis
BG Group wants to sell Palestinian gas to Israel, in a deal brokered by Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Ynet
May 24, 2007
London Times reports British Gas close to signing deal to supply Israel with gas from off-shore field near Gaza. Hamas says will block deal
The BG group, former owner of British Gas is about to sign a four billion dollar deal to supply Israel with gas found in an off-shore field near Gaza, the London Times reported Thursday.
Continue reading "British Gas to sign $4 billion deal with Israel" »
Ma'an
May 23, 2007
Bethlehem - Ma'an - British newspaper The Sunday Times has reported that
British Gas (now BG Group) is about to close a deal worth $4 billion, to supply
Palestinian gas to Israel.
Al Jazeera English
March 1, 2007
By Nour Odeh in Gaza
Sewage runs through the streets of Gaza
The Gaza Strip is the most densely populated piece of land in the world but it has had little or no investment in infrastructure for years, and the situation has worsened since sanctions were imposed last year.
Jordan Times
Feb. 28, 2007
AMMAN -- The Greek government is to contribute $1 million for the feasibility study of the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project.
Ambassador of Greece to Jordan Troyphon Parakevopolos on Tuesday submitted a letter from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Evripidis Stylianidis to Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Suhair Al-Ali, affirming his government's commitment in this regard.
Continue reading "Greece to co-finance feasibility study for Dead-Red project" »
Haaretz
February 27, 2007
By Mijal Grinberg and Tzafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondents
Representatives of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and the Society for the Preservation of Nature said Tuesday they would battle against plans to establish new communities in the northern Negev for families evacuated from the Gaza Strip.
Continue reading "Green agencies oppose construction for Gaza evacuees" »
Haaretz
Updated March 1, 2007
By Haaretz Editorial
The theft of private land and lawless construction, with the authorities' collaboration, have long been routine in the land of the settlers. The scope of these deeds and their seriousness are described extensively in the report on illegal outposts compiled by Talia Sasson, formerly a senior state prosecution attorney. The report was buried almost two years ago.
Haaretz
February 22, 2007
By Zafrir Rinat
A new report released yesterday by Peace Now says that several West Bank settlements have annexed land from nature reserves for construction purposes.
The group's claim is based on a comparison of aerial photographs of settlements and outposts and nature reserve maps.
Continue reading "Peace Now: W. Bank settlements annexed nature reserve land" »
Haaretz
February 14, 2007
By Avi Issacharoff and Aluf Benn
A group of Palestinian entrepreneurs yesterday presented plans to create a new Palestinian city in the West Bank, located between Ramallah and Nablus.
The group, headed by businessman Abd al-Malik Jabbar, presented its plan to Israeli, Palestinian and U.S. officials during an economic conference at the home of the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Richard Jones.
Continue reading "Palestinian Authority proposes building new city in West Bank" »
MA'AN
February 2, 2007
تكبير الخط تصغير الخط
Jericho - Ma'an – On Thursday, the training center of the Jerusalem electric company concluded a customer-service training course for their employees for when they conduct technical works or collect money. They were trained to reply positively to citizens' inquiries.
Continue reading "Solar power station to be established near Jericho" »
Arab Environment Monitor
February 20, 2007
Press Release from EMPOWERS
The EMPOWERS Partnership has now available the 'Guidelines for Improved Local Water Governance'
The Guidelines consolidate the experience gained over the past 4 years in developing and testing a range of participatory planning tools for local water development. These have been developed through action research with a wide range of stakeholders in Egypt, Palestine, and Jordan.
Continue reading "Guidelines for Improved Local Water Governance in 3 Arab Countries" »
Ma'an
February 16, 2007
تكبير الخط تصغير الخط
Ramallah - Ma'an - The Tamer Institute for Community Education launched an environmental awareness-raising campaign on Thursday in cooperation with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the German Institution for Development.
Continue reading "Environmental awareness-raising campaign launched in Ramallah Thursday" »
Haaretz / Jordan Times
February 15, 2007
By Margaret Beckett
[listserve note: published in both Jordan Times and Haaretz, unusual for the region]
All too often the news is dominated by conflict and disagreement. Then a threat of such magnitude comes along that it forcefully reminds us of our common humanity - in other words just how much all of us, whatever our background, creed or colour hold in common. For our generation that threat is climate change.
Ministry of Tourism – Jericho & AL-GOUR District
Committee for the Promotion of Tourism in the Governorate of Jericho
&
Palestine Wildlife Society
Birdlife International
The First
Jericho-The Botanic Garden
Jericho Wildlife Monitoring Station
March 15-18/2007
We are glad "Palestine Wildlife Society and Committee for the Promotion of Tourism in the Governorate of Jericho to inform you that we are organizing the first edition of the Jericho Bird watching and Nature Tourism Fair. The Fair will take place between March 15-18 2007 at the:
Botanic Garden
"Jericho Wildlife Monitoring Station"
http://www.wildlife-pal.org/portal/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=14
This will enable people to look onto the Migration Root of the Jordan Valley since this site it is a BOTTLE NECK for the global and some of the Resident & endemic Bird Species during that days...
There are some interesting activities for all of the people and the visitors such as..
Planting Tree in the garden on your name.
Bird watching "early in the morning or after noon"...
Bird Ringing "Banding" during the day time "morning and afternoon
Visiting the Archeology sites in Jericho and its area
Hiking from St. George Monastery "Wadi Quilt top Jericho on Friday the 16 /3 and Sunday the 18/3…….
And including an over night staying at the MOON HOSTEL for who wish to stay over night with us…>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>The Cost:
One day & Full board for over night with transportation within Jericho visit 40$.
During the day:20$
► Any other donations are acceptable to support
PWLS Nature Conservation activities.
www.wildlife-pal.org http://www.wildlife-pal.org/portal/index.php
For more information & registration, please contact:
Mr. Imad Atrash 0599258726 or PWLS office: 02-2774373: email:pwls@wildlife-pal.org
Friends of the Earth Middle East
Issue No. 41 (December 2006)
GOOD WATER NEIGHBORS BULLETIN
This is a monthly electronic bulletin on water and environmental issues in our
region, produced by Friends of the Earth Middle East. Friends of the Earth
Middle East (FoEME) is a regional environmental organization of Jordanians,
Israelis and Palestinians working together to promote sustainable development
and peace building through environmental awareness.
REGIONAL UPDATES FROM THE GOOD WATER NEIGHBORS PROJECT
The most important happening of November was the result of the quick response
from FoEME’s staff on the notification that work will start on the Separation
Barrier between the Good Water Neighbors (GWN) communities of Tzur Hadassa on
the Israeli side and Wadi Fukin on the Palestinian side. FoEME’s Tel-Aviv
branch responded by appealing to the Israeli Civil Administration, which
resulted in the work being postponed until a decision is made on the issue. In
the event of a negative response, FoEME is already preparing a petition to the
Israeli Supreme Court against the barrier in Wadi Fukin.
Another important issue was the second meeting between the mayors of the GWN
communities of Beit She’an and Sheikh Hussein, where a Memorandum of
Understanding was drafted as a first step to restore the streams of Nahal Harod
and Wadi Ziglab, both important tributaries to the Jordan River.
NEWS IN BRIEF [HEADLINES REPRINTED ONLY; FOR FULL STORIES SEE THE FOEME WEBSITE
OR SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER]
Since 'Operation Summer Rains', 90% Gazans Eat Less than Three Meals a Day, Only
a Third of Gazans have Running Water
(Ma’an News -- www.maannews.net, Palestine, November, 17th, 2006)
_____________
Cost of water to farmers to rise 20% over five years
(Ha’aretz, Israel, November 16, 2006) By Amiram Cohen
_____________
A 15 meter sink hole appeared in Deir Allah
(Al-Dustor, Jordan, November 1, 2006)
_____________
Evaporation and Israel Threatens to Vanish the Dead Sea
(Al-Jazeera Net, www.aljazeera.net, Palestine, November, 14th 2006)
_____________
ISO certificate for the water ministry
(Al-Ghad, Jordan November 21, 2006)
_____________
Israel and Jordan fight sea pollution
Ha'aretz, November 16th, 2006
_____________
Sink holes threatening the lives of South Ghour residents
(Al-Arab Al-Yaum, November 22, 2006)
Municipality of Tulkarm Urged the Residents of the District to Pay their Duties
for Electricity and Water Services
(Ma’an News -- www.maannews.net, Palestine, November, 1st, 2006)
An Israeli-Jordanian Agreement on water issues
Ha'aretz, November 23rd
This bulletin is part of Friends of the Earth Middle East's regional project:
Good Water Neighbors.
The bulletin aims to bring up to date information from the region on pertinent
water issues facing communities, focusing on water provision, allocation and
good management practices.
All issues of Good Water Neighbors bulletins are also available online at:
www.foeme.org
Contributions to this bulletin are welcome. Please send by the 24th of each
month to: info@foeme.org
The opinions expressed in this publication are those of FoEME and/or of
individual contributors and not necessarily those of our sponsors. The Good
Water Neighbors Project recognizes the support of the European Union
Partnership for Peace program, the UK Government's Global Opportunities Fund
and the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.
This newsletter or portions thereof may be freely distributed. All quotations
from material enclosed herein should be properly cited. If cited in other
publications, please send us copies.
This project document has been produced with the financial assistance of the
European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of
EcoPeace / Friends of the Earth Middle East and can under no circumstances be
regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.
www.foeme.org
Arab Environment Monitor
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Jordanian magazine "Jordan Business" has recently published a thorough
analytical article on the joint statement by Jordan, Israel and Palestine to
conduct a feasibility and environmental impact study for the proposed Red-Dead
Canal.
This is the full text of the article:
Last month, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel launched a two-year
feasibility study for a project to replenish the rapidly disappearing Dead Sea
by way of pumping water into it from the Red Sea. Nisreen El-Shamayleh reports
on the meeting at the lowest-lying body of water on Earth.
The Red-Dead Canal project has been on the drawing board for years but has yet
to enter the construction phase. The feasibility study, to be conducted by the
World Bank, is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2007.
Officials hope that the two-year feasibility study and environmental and social
assessment will recommend a multibillion-dollar project to link the Dead Sea
with the Red Sea, using a pipeline or canal to suck 1,900 million cubic meters
(mcm) of water annually from the Gulf of Aqaba.
France, the U.S., the Netherlands and Japan attended last month’s Dead Sea
meeting in Jordan together with the World Bank and the riparian states and have
already contributed $8.8 million to fund the $15 million study.
Ministry of Water and Irrigation Official Spokesperson and Assistant General
Secretary, Adnan Zoubi, said the three regional players had decided to initiate
a feasibility study after meeting at the World Economic Forum in May 2005.
Political developments, including the rise of Hamas to power in the
Palestinian territories, delayed the launch. Jordan, which has said it is
prepared to cooperate with the Palestinians, “whether led by Hamas or any other
party,” invited the Israelis and the Palestinians, along with the main parties,
to attend last month’s gathering.
The study became possible after the international community stepped in with the
financing and after Israel apparently dropped its Med-Dead Sea canal project,
which many experts say is not feasible. The Israelis had proposed building a
canal extending from the Mediterranean coast to the Dead Sea, including a
desalination plant that would sell freshwater to both Jordanians and
Palestinians. Such a project would have left the tap under Israeli control, a
set up neither Jordan or the Palestinians would have accepted.
Construction of the project, if determined feasible, would cost around $4
billion, last over 10 years and would link the Dead Sea with the Red Sea
through a series of pipelines, canals and tunnels. The intended 180-kilometer
conduit would carry around two billion cubic meters of seawater per year to
associated power, reverse osmosis desalination facilities and would increase
freshwater availability to Jordan, Israel and Palestine by an annual 850 mcm.
The project will also include a hydro-electric plant to capitalize on the drop
in level of 400 meters from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea, generating 550
megawatts of power, which will be used to operate the desalination plant and to
nourish electricity networks in the Kingdom. The Israelis and Palestinians will
also benefit from the generated power. The proposal also envisages a shared
cross-border airport and an industrial city.
Dr. Dureid Mahasneh, former co-chairman of the Jordan-Israel Water Coordination
Committee, said Jordan is expected to get 570 mcm of freshwater through
desalination and the remaining 280 mcm would be divided among Palestinians and
Israelis annually. While Israel’s water share is not yet clear, the Israelis
see the project as a means of cementing relations with its Arab neighbors. The
Dead Sea is depleting at the rate of about 80 centimeters per year, and will be
completely dry by 2050 if urgent action is not taken. The Red-Dead project will
quash the 25-meter fall in the level of the Dead Sea over the past century.
Experts say the reduction has been caused mainly by the diversion of the Jordan
River, which feeds the Dead Sea, for irrigation and drinking water - mostly by
Israel, but also by Jordan and Syria. Today, less than 7% of the river’s
original flow reaches the Dead Sea.The annual drop in the level of the Dead Sea
has already left the nearby lands unstable and susceptible to sink holes,
which puts infrastructure, including roads, hotels and chemical plants around
the sea, in jeopardy. The natural environment has also been disrupted,
affecting bird migrations and desert wildlife.
Dr. Mahasneh said the completion of the study doesn’t necessarily mean execution
of the costly project will follow. However, he pointed out that getting funds
for the mega-project is not as difficult as it used to be five or 10 years ago
because through a build, operate and transfer basis, consumers will be paying
for the desalinated water so investors may be more tempted. He added that the
liquidity in the region could make it easier to attract investors, especially
that the project will spin off to include resort areas, fish ponds, and lakes
in Wadi Araba to bolster tourism.
Although many studies have been conducted to explore the feasibility of the
project, Dr. Mahasneh said the new study is “using totally different techniques
and is not intended to complete or build on what has been done in the past.”
Water politics
There is no doubt that the Red-Dead Canal project is highly political and not
just another water project. Professor of Hydrogeology at the University of
Jordan, Dr. Elias Salameh said the project may enhance peace and lessen
tensions in the region through joint research and scientific studies - a
sentiment shared by all the parties. “The project is very important since it
will deepen the meaning of peace in the region through joint projects and
practical work,” Mr. Zoubi said.
Now key players, the Palestinian Authority was represented by President Mahmoud
Abbas’s economic advisor, Mohammad Mustafa, who described the study as
“essential in promoting sustainable development of the entire Jordan Valley
basin.” In 1990, the Palestinians were excluded from the Red-Dead Canal
trilateral committee, consisting of Jordan, Israel and the U.S., which was
responsible for the development of the Jordan Rift Valley.
At the launch of the feasibility study in Jordan, Israeli Minister of National
Infrastructure Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told reporters the project goes beyond
protection of the Dead Sea because the economic cooperation would fortify the
peace process. The Israelis are also keen on protecting their touristic
investments along the Dead Sea.
Shimon Peres, the Israeli deputy prime minister, said the “project of the canal,
or the Peace Conduit…is vital for the preservation of the Dead Sea, but just as
much for peace and prosperity in this area,” he said. “In the Middle East we
have used too much diplomacy and strategy, and too little economy,” he added.
Regardless of these declarations there is still skepticism of Israeli
intentions, especially that it has taken more than its fair share of water. He
explained that the Israelis “falsely presume that the [new] desalinated
freshwater for the Palestinians might replace the freshwater they illegally
take from the West Bank underground aquifers.” Israel still controls 75% of
underwater aquifers in the West Bank. Drilling, licensing and water allocation
are also under Israeli control.
But not everyone supports the closer cooperation. Jordan’s Islamic-led
opposition rejects the project, which it says has the primary aim of promoting
normalization with Israel.
“From a principled attitude, we view the project a political move that has the
key aim of normalizing ties with the Zionist entity,” Secretary General of the
Islamic Action Front (IAF), Zaki Bani Ershaid, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur
after the launch of the study.
Environmental critics
Critics on opposite shores of the Dead Sea say the project is a pricey endeavor
that fails to address the root cause of the depleting sea, which could destroy
the very sea that they are trying to resuscitate. Some environmentalists have
warned that the two bodies of water may not mix well and that siphoning out
large volumes of water from the Gulf of Aqaba may damage its fragile ecosystem.
Some say that pumping less salty water into the Dead Sea could kill its delicate
micro-organisms and harm its appeal to tourists. Others argue that the Dead Sea
used to be replenished from fresh water from the River Jordan, so it should not
be harmed.
Friends of the Earth warned that mixing water from the Red Sea with the unique
chemical soup of the Dead Sea could create a natural disaster. “The [Dead
Sea’s] mix of bromide, potash, magnesium and salt is like no other body of
water on the planet,” said Gidon Bromberg, the Israeli director of Friends of
the Earth in the Middle East. “By bringing in the marine water, this
composition will be changed. There is concern about algae growth and we could
see the sea change from deep blue to red and brown and the different waters
could separate.”
Some environmentalists have gone as far as charging that Red-Dead is driven by
the interests of Israeli and Jordanian construction companies eager to
capitalize on the mega-project. The Red-Dead canal is not the only solution to
the water problem; neither is it going to undo the mismanagement of Jordan’s
reources, Dr. Mahasneh explained. “Re-exporting water in the form of
watermelons and tomatoes is part of our water mismanagement that also has to
stop,” he said.
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
Mekorot Water Company workers repaired a faulty water pipeline Wednesday that
has failed to supply water for the past 48 hours to tens of thousands of
residents of settlements and Palestinian villages in the Dolev-Talmonim and
Nili Na'aleh areas in the West Bank.
Escorted by security, the Mekorot workers repaired the Kiryat
Sefer-Herevta-Dolev water pipeline and restored the water supply to the homes
of some ten thousand settlers and tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The emergency reservoir planned for Talmon has yet to be built, due to Defense
Minister Amir Peretz's refusal to authorize the project.
Peretz contends that the emergency reservoir is slated to be built in an area
for which an urban construction plan has not been officially filed, and
therefore the area is essentially being developed without a permit. Peretz is
also refusing to authorize a "pinpoint" construction plan that would give
permission to build the reservoir, as is accepted procedure in such cases.
In recent months, there have been several water stoppages in the area, which in
recent years has seen significant population growth, primarily among the
Palestinians.
The Binyamin Regional Council distributed water tanks Tuesday to the affected
settlements.
By Mohammed Zaatari
Daily Star staff
Thursday, January 11, 2007
NABATIEH: The head of the Confederation of Municipalities Union in Shqif on
Wednesday warned residents of villages in the Nabatieh area against piling
their garbage in the street following the closure of the Arnoun dump. The dump,
closed at the end of 2006, was notorious for receiving 100 tons of waste a day.
Serious environmental concerns had been raised due to the dump being
precariously perched atop a hill next to the Khardali River.
"We closed the dump because it is harmful [to the environment] ... I warned
mayors of 28 villages and towns two months ago of its dangers and asked them
not to throw garbage there by the end of 2006," Samih Halal told The Daily
Star.
Halal urged the government in Beirut to find alternative means of disposal for
the region's waste.
"The state should find a location where Shqif's municipalities could bury their
waste," he said. "Otherwise it should set up a waste-separation plant."
"The most important point today is to deal with the current situation after the
dump was closed," he added. "Piles of waste have started to appear in Nabatieh
and the surrounding areas due to a lack of dumps."
Acting Arnoun Mayor Rafik Hamdan said the decision to close the area dump was
made after repeated charges of negligence were leveled against the disposal
company responsible for waste collection in the area.
"The dump caught fire many times and the company was totally careless," Hamdan
said.
Environmental studies recently conducted in Arnoun said the location of the dump
was "inappropriate," he added.
"The dump is close to the Khardali River, which made the municipality of Arnoun
file a lawsuit against the [waste disposal] company," the acting mayor said.
"We have had enough of bearing the trash of around 30 villages for the past
four years."
Environmental Issue Overrides Outdated IDF Decision FOEME
2006-12-31
Israeli military reverses previous decision against a solid waste facility in
Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank
Tel Aviv, 31st December 2006
In response to pressure from environmental groups, the Israeli military has
approved the establishment of a landfill to be built on land previously
restricted to Palestinian development.
The new landfill site will be constructed near the village of Dir Dibwan, east
of Ramallah in "Area C," land under full Israeli military control.
The site will replace two antiquated dump sites in Al-Bireh and Ramallah -- both
of which lack basic environmental infrastructure, resulting in pollution of the
Mountain Aquifer's groundwater, as well as air pollution.
"The decision is a victory for the citizens of Ramallah, who have long been
forced to live with the stench, public health hazards and polluted air
generated from the atrocious state of the cities dumps," said Nader Khateeb
Director of FoEME's office in Bethlehem.
Responding to calls by Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME), support for the
site's approval was secured by Mr. Hagai Alon, advisor to Defense Minister
Peretz.
The former objection to the site was justified by the military due to plans to
construct an eastern separation barrier, which would have separated the
proposed waste disposal site from Ramallah and the adjacent village of Dir
Dibwan.
"Despite the fact that the barrier plan was abandoned by the government as early
as 2004, Israeli military objections to the site remained," said Zach Tagar,
Deputy Director at FoEME's office in Tel Aviv. "Reversal of the decision is a
hopeful sign of changes in the New Year. Moreover, the decision facilitates the
advancement of a 14 million Euro German investment in protecting shared ground
water resources by providing a solution to waste disposal for over 350,000
people."
Approximately sixty million cubic meters of sewage and solid waste pollution
seep into the Mountain Aquifer every year, threatening the fresh water supply
for Israelis and Palestinians, both of whom are dependant on the fresh
groundwater resources of the Mountain Aquifer.
For more information or to join a site tour, please contact Zach Tagar at: 03
5605383 (ext. 7) or 057 7492201.
For background information on sewage and solid waste pollution please see the
FoEME publication Seeping Time Bomb at: http://www.foeme.org.
Haaretz
By Zafrir Rinat, Haaretz Correspondent
Defense Minister Amir Peretz has called for a halt in the construction of a
section of the separation fence routed to run through the Judean Desert, until
conclusive research about the environmental impacts of the fence can be done.
Peretz's decision comes after head of the Labor faction in the Knesset, Yoram
Marciano, requested that Peretz assess the possibility of changing the route of
the fence in order to avoid the expected negative impact it would have on the
views and nature of the area.
Recently, environmentalists and settlers have launched joint efforts in nature
preserves and settlements in the area of Hebron mountain to stop the
construction of the fence within the Judean Desert, which they maintain will
cause great harm to the ecology and aesthetics of the region.
Mount Hebron Regional Council Chairman Tzvika Bar-Chai recently met with
official from the Israel Defense Forces' Central Command in an attempt to
persuade them to reroute that section of the fence, or to cancel its
construction altogether.
Bar-Chai enlisted the support of one of the founders of the Israeli conservation
movement, Ezriya Alon, who in turn contacted GOC Central Command Yair Naveh.
"The essence of the Judean Desert is wholly unique in all of Israel. The fence
will amputate the desert and destroy its vistas and appeal for backpackers and
tourists, dealing a severe blow to the living world," Alon said in his
statement to Naveh.
Dr. Yossi Lashem, former general secretary of the Society for the Protection of
Nature in Israel and one of the country's foremost aviary researchers, sent a
letter on Wednesday to IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz and Defense Department
General Secretary Gabi Ashkenazi. In the letter, Lashem warned that the planned
route of the fence would prevent animals from moving freely and would destroy
food access for birds of prey.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/811440.html
(Tulkarem) Palestine News Network
Thursday, 11 January 2007
The Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the northwestern West Bank's
Tulkarem ended the first phase of a land reclamation project in two villages.
Project Coordinator Abdul Rahim Barhush said, “The reclamation project lasted
seven months and focused on planting sites with 250 nut and fruit trees.” The
United Nations Development Program funded that aspect of the project under the
supervision of the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
Khalid Barham of the Agricultural Work Committees said that 10 sites throughout
the governorates of Tulkarem and Qalqilia are working on seed production,
organic pesticides and home gardening.
“The trainees received assistance, agricultural equipment and seedlings with the
help of Italian hydrologists and EU funding.”
Barham explained that 900 farmers were trained on pressing and fundamental
issues in agricultural diversification, such as water resource management, the
use of pesticides and establishing cooperatives.
http://english.pnn.ps/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1428
Jordan Times
Yusuf Mansur
Can the dead be revived? No, but if we are speaking of the Dead Sea, it is
possible, and with water, too!
How simple the cure is. The new-old initiative of connecting the Red Sea with
the Dead Sea is the most important economic project for the sustainable
development of the Kingdom in the long term.
The Dead Sea is two-thirds its size in the 1970s, in terms of water surface, and
where it used to be 395 metres below sea level, it is now 417 metres, a 22-metre
drop in 30 years; and the rate of loss is accelerating as population and unfair
usage escalate. Thus, speeding up the untimely demise of one of the most
important cultural and historical sights in the world, at the current rate, the
Dead Sea will disappear by 2050.
The unfair uncoordinated usage of the resources that feed the sea is emblematic
of the Tragedy of the Commons, a well-known concept in economics, where two or
more parties share a common resource with no penalty or fee for usage.
Consequently, since usage is costless, each party has an incentive to draw from
the resource more than the others do.
When completed, the canal will mean more to Jordan than saving one of its
greatest tourist attraction sites. It will bring with it power generation from
the hydraulic stations on the canal, water desalination capabilities (Israel is
considered the world leader in water desalination and currently uses nuclear
energy for that purpose) and a renewable water source.
Agriculture will also blossom on both sides of the canal as irrigation water
becomes available, instead of using the water of the Disi aquifer in the south
of Jordan, thus wasting one of the cleanest water resources on a low-return
product, and draining possibly the oldest aquifer in the world to plant
watermelons for export to make Jordan, one of the ten water-poorest countries
in the world, a de facto exporter of water.
Tourism and tourist projects will also pick up as the canal comes to provide
unmatched scenery in a warm spot of the world. Aqaba will become even closer as
buildings and structures will appear between the Dead Sea and Aqaba and the
economic activity will see a population shift to the Jordan Valley, where
Jordanians won’t have to worry about heating their homes with expensive fuel in
the winter.
Thousands of skilled and semi-skilled jobs will be created. Billions of dollars
of investment will accompany the canal in order to benefit from the
opportunities it generates. The canal itself will be a tourist attraction and
economic activity will grow into truly sustainable economic growth and
development.
The cost of the project is not forbidding. It would be much easier for officials
to ask for aid and grants to finance this project than had been the case when
asking for finance for less sustainable and economically feasible projects.
Besides, investors could pick up the tab for the capital outlays through a BOO
(build, own, operate), BOT (build, operate, transfer), BOOT (build, own,
operate, transfer), or any other financing scheme.
The sad fact remains that this project had been thought of in Jordan more than
30 years ago; but since there was no peace treaty between Jordan and Israel at
the time, it was considered an embarrassing taboo. Jordan presented this
project among its mega-investment projects at the MENA Economic Conference held
in Amman in 1995. It remains there, in the literature. The cost of the study,
estimated then as now at $15 million, is paltry relative to the losses
associated with losing the Dead Sea every year. The simplest cost/benefit
analysis will show the economic feasibility and the high economic return to
Jordan and its neighbours from such a project.
Jordan should continue the drive to build the canal, reviving the Dead Sea
before it is too late.
Questions and comments can be directed at: ymansur@enconsult.com
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/opinion/opinion4.htm
(From: Stuart Schoenfeld )
Subject: Palestinian Authority - Israel fuel deal: Al Jazeera, Jordan Times, Haaretz
Hamas in Israel fuel deal Al-Jazeera
Thursday 05 October 2006, 19:45 Makka Time, 16:45 GMT
Abu Eisheh, interim Hamas finance minister, signed the deal
The Hamas-led government has signed a contract with a new Israeli oil supplier
to provide fuel to the Palestinian territories.
Samir Abu Eisheh, the interim finance minister, said on Thursday that the
Palestinian government had signed a contract with Paz, a private Israeli
company, to replace Dor Alon, the firm which has provided fuel to Gaza and the
West Bank for 12 years.
"We signed the agreement several days ago after more than four months of
negotiations," Abu Eisheh said
The deal comes despite the Israeli government's refusal to deal with the
Hamas-led administration, headed by what Israel and many Western countries
consider a terrorist organisation.
"We negotiated with three companies, including Dor Alon, and we managed to
improve the terms of the contract in reducing the margin of the new supplier
which will begin supplies at the start of next year," Abu Eisheh said.
Interrupted supplies
A Paz spokeswoman confirmed that the contract had been signed and would come
into effect in January 2007.
Abu Eisheh said the contract would allow the Palestinian treasury to save $17m a
year over the terms of the old contract with Dor Alon.
Dor Alon has frequently interrupted supplies owing to unpaid bills by the
Palestinian government, which is on the verge of bankruptcy due to the
suspension of aid and Israel's decision to withhold millions of dollars in
taxes.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2C6EC050-A136-4504-94CA-E71651B168F3.htm
Israeli fuel firm strikes deal with Hamas gov’t Jordan Times
(AP) — An Israeli fuel company on Thursday said it has reached an agreement to
supply gasoline to the Palestinians, the first major business transaction
between an Israeli firm and the Hamas-led Palestinian government.
The Paz Oil Co.'s deal underscored Israel's substantial business interests in
the Palestinian areas, which have continued despite the Israeli government's
crippling sanctions against the Islamic Hamas. Officials on both sides conceded
that when it comes to doing business, they are ready to put politics aside.
"This is the first formal agreement the current government has signed with an
Israeli company," said Ismail Mahfouz of Hamas, the Palestinian deputy finance
minister. It comes just a day after frustrated Palestinians lined up at gas
stations because of a sudden West Bank fuel shortage, the result of a dispute
between their government and the present Israeli supplier — underlining how
dependent the Palestinians are on the Israelis.
Israel and the West imposed its sanctions on Hamas after the group won
legislative elections and took power last March. Israel, the US and European
Union consider Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide
bombings, a terrorist group.
Israel has withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes collected on behalf
of the Palestinians. It also has frequently closed the main cargo crossing into
the Gaza Strip, preventing goods from moving in and out of the area, citing
security concerns and planned attacks by Palestinian fighters. In June, gunmen
linked to Hamas tunnelled into Israel, attacked an army base and captured a
soldier stationed along the Gaza border.
Despite the crackdown, business contacts have continued.
Israel is the main supplier of dairy products, food items and fuel to the
Palestinians, while state-run monopolies such as the Israeli electricity and
water companies also continue to serve them.
Some of these dealings, such as providing power, are motivated by humanitarian
concerns. But many others, including Paz's deal with the state-run Palestinian
fuel authority, are focused purely on the bottom line.
"There are three million Palestinians, who regardless of their political views
need water, electricity and fuel," said Moudi Ben-Shach, Paz's chief executive.
"We for many years wanted to do this, and now we have." Under the deal, Paz will
become the exclusive supplier of gasoline in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on
January 1. Paz will replace Dor Alon, the Israeli company that has been
providing fuel to the Palestinians under a contract reached before Hamas took
power.
Ben-Shach declined to release details of the deal, but said the terms are more
favourable to the Palestinians than the previous arrangement. "It's very
positive for them and us," he said.
A contract dispute between the Palestinian fuel authority and Dor Alon led to
the gasoline shortages in the West Bank and Gaza this week, though supplies
appeared to be replenished on Thursday.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, the Palestinians' acting finance minister,
Samir Abuaishi, proudly trumpeted the Paz deal as a victory in Hamas' campaign
to clean up the government.
"I am always ready to sit with any Israeli counterpart to discuss services for
our people," he said at a news conference, claiming the fuel deal would save
the government close to $18 million a year.
The Palestinian fuel industry has been widely linked to corruption. Abuaishi
said he had received a death threat late Wednesday night because of the fuel
deal.
http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news5.htm
Paz strikes deal to refine crude oil for the Palestinian Authority
04.10.06 | 19:30 By Sharon Kedmi Haaretz
The Paz energy company has struck a deal to refine fuels for the Palestinian
Authority at its refinery in Ashdod, TheMarker has learned.
The agreement was only finalized in the past few days.
The Palestinian Authority will import crude straight to the Ashdod refinery,
which Paz just bought last week for NIS 3.5 billion.
Paz will refine the crude oil and deliver the products and distillates to the
Palestinian Authority.
The Palestinian Authority means to import oil mainly from the Gulf states, which
are expected to give it attractive prices.
Paz, which belongs to Zadik Bino, yesterday confirmed that negotiations with the
Palestinians were taking place.
In essence Paz is taking over where Dor-Alon (TASE: DRAL) left off. On the eve
of Yom Kippur, Dor-Alon admitted in an announcement to the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange that the Palestinian Authority will cease buying gasoline and gas from
it from the start of 2007.
Dor-Alon had refused to sweeten the terms of sale to the Palestinians, it
explained. But the Palestinian withdrawal is a blow to the Israeli company, as
the PA had been responsible for about 40% of its income.
Dor-Alon had been supplying the Palestinians with fuel since 1994. Two years ago
the parties extended their agreement by five years and at present, Dor-Alon is
the sole supplier of fuels to the Palestinian Authority.
Each month the Palestinian Authority buys 50 million liters of gasoline and
diesel from Israel.
Paz refused to comment for this report.