Gaza and Israel

From the NY Times (09/10/23): Israel’s defense minister said that “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” will be allowed into Gaza as Israeli airstrikes pounded the coastal strip for a third day

So, some context… I wrote this a year ago.

Background

Gaza is a strip of land 40km long and 10km wide, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt, and is home to 2 million people. Originally occupied by Egypt, and after a 38-year period following the 1967 Six Day war, when the territory was run by Israel, Gaza is now ruled by the militant Islamist group Hamas.

Israel imposes a blockade on the territory, restricting the movement of goods, including fuel, and people. Furthermore, Egypt has restricted movement across Gaza's southern border. Gaza is a densely populated area, consisting of urban areas, refugee camps and desolate land. Its population density is one of the highest in the world at over 5,800 people per square kilometre.

Water resources

Gaza has a warm temperate climate with mild winters and hot, dry summers. All Mediterranean climates rely on winter rainfall for water supplies but Gaza’s pattern seems to be a two year cycle, with one wetter winter, followed by a drier one. Gaza therefore has little rain and no major fresh water source to replenish its diminishing underground water supplies. Only 6% of the piped water meets WHO quality standards. Treatment of waste water and sewage is another headache. Gaza relies on waste water treatment plants that are either working beyond their capacity or were constructed as temporary installations. As a result, about 90 million litres of untreated or partially treated sewage is pumped into the Mediterranean sea every day.

Water scarcity

Whilst under the Israeli administration, there were no plans for an effective water management strategy, and a structural scarcity of water supply existed and this situation continues. Gazan communities have high birth rates, and the rate of natural increase is one of the highest in the world at 6.0% per annum. Water availability per capita therefore continues to decrease, and soon it is possible that there will not be enough for drinking water, let alone for other purposes. Access to water supplies is limited for the population, being available on average between 6 and 8 hours in every 24 on only a few days a week.

The Gaza aquifer is currently being over-pumped in order to try to meet demand. Israel, which also has its water supply problems, has been tapping into the aquifer from outside Gaza and taking some water which would naturally have replenished it. Overuse causes the water table to fall and the deficiency is filled naturally by water seeping in from nearby sources, in this case saline aquifers and from the sea itself. Seawater has been detected 1.5 km inland. The whole of the Gaza aquifer is therefore threatened with salinisation. In some places irrigation water is already so saline it has damaged crop yields, such as citrus fruit.

Extensive amounts of the water infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed by various Israeli military actions in the 21^st century. Up to 12 wells have been rendered inoperable and more than 6,000 roof storage tanks damaged. Essential materials, such as cement, pipes and pumps, can no longer be accessed – Gaza is essentially cut off from the world as Israel and Egypt control its borders. Illegal tunnels exist but these are inadequate to bring in larger pipes and equipment.

Resolution

There is on-going debate about who is responsible for the deteriorating water situation. The pressure group Amnesty International has reported that the water situation in Gaza has reached a ‘crisis point’ with 90 – 95% of the water supply in the territory contaminated and unfit for human consumption. In return, the Israeli Water Authority (IWA) claims this report was ‘biased and incorrect’. The IWA claims that Israel has met its obligations under the Oslo Accords (1995) which laid down the amount of water that Israel is obliged to provide for the Gazans.

Gazans have managed to make some improvements through ingenuity. A new, rather primitive, wastewater plant has been built at Rafah. Building materials came from the remains of the wall which used to divide Gaza from the Sinai Peninsula and which had been blown up. New shallow wells have been dug which should supply water without placing too much pressure on the aquifer. Desalination plants are, however, needed to improve the quality of aquifer water. UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) has estimated that an investment of over $1.5 billion is needed to restore the aquifer.