Our Ally is our Enemy

     Exemplified by the recent events last month, it is apparent the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a struggle that must come to a conclusion soon. Casualties on both sides plague the people of the area. As the death toll inches close to 160,000 for the entire conflict, the number of deaths on the Palestinian side is almost 3 times higher [1]. Neither side wants the conflict to go on forever, but the question remains as to whether or not a deal can be brokered and how that deal would look. To theorize this deal, we have to look at one of the biggest issues in the region: water.

The mountain aquifer is highly contested [5]

     Water is extremely scarce in the region, making it the most valuable resource in the area, even more so than oil.  The problem with this is that all of the water is underneath the border between Israel and the West Bank. The question of "who has the rights to this water, and how should it be allocated?" has been ensuring the conflict remains unsolved. Currently, Israel controls the aquifer and everything about it through the occupation of the West Bank, stating it's control is justified to ensure their "security" [2]. Israel gets about four fifths of the water, and the quality and quantity the Palestinians get is below humanitarian disaster response levels put in place to avoid epidemics [3]. They do this by forcing Palestinians to apply for permits to drill new wells into the receding aquifer and denying them access. The video below is a great example of how water quality is at an extreme low, while the amount Palestinians get is such a small portion.

     Several possible solutions [2] have been brought to the table by Israel to solve the water issue, such as building desalination plants along the Mediterranean Sea, building a pipeline from the Nile to Israel, or a combination of damns to pump out water from the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. None of these possible solutions have even been attempted due to the prospective costs, averaging about three billion dollars per project. The odd thing is that the amount of foreign military aid we as the United States have approved to give Israel is 3.15 billion dollars per year. So what should the United States do?

     John Rawls was an American political philosopher that viewed justice as equality and fairness, exemplified by his book Justice as Fairness. In this he stated that the best and fairest solution is one that redistributes some sort of asset from the most advantaged group to the least advantaged group [4]. In this case, the United States would be transferring water resources from Israel to the Palestinians. Another aspect of Rawls' theory was the idea of basic liberties that cannot be taken away from any individual. With this in mind however, Rawls is usually seen as a more 'hands off' kind of guy, believing that international intervention is a violation of a nation's sovereignty. But as Thomas Nagel points out in his interpretation Justice, Justice, Shalt Thou Pursue, that Rawls sees equality and freedom as something between entire societies as well [7]. When certain criteria are met, such as humanitarian rights, Rawls would be in support of intervention. So am I.

Both sides want peace [6]

     So what should we as the United States do? There are certain things that I deem necessary to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people. The first would be to negotiate with Israel, demanding they make steps to ensure water security for both nations, not simply themselves. If they do not comply, the next step would be to cut all types of aid to Israel. Next is a drastic, but necessary step. If they still do not agree to creating some form of infrastructure to ensure water security for both them and the Palestinians, we must then move to military force. They have been using our military as a tool to do what they wish for years, why not return the favor? Setting up a blockade of the Mediterranean Sea and declaring a no fly zone above Israel would be the first step. This would most likely be rather easy due to our naval and air capabilities, and the surrounding nations share a common grudge against Israel. It wouldn't be too hard to get them on board of maintaining this no fly zone, as well as closing down the borders surrounding Israel. Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan would all need to be at the bargaining table to ensure the effectiveness of the blockade. The blockade would continue until Israel either begins construction on some of the previously mentioned solutions or they stop taking their extremely large portion of the West Bank aquifer and increase the amount of permits given to Palestinians for wells in the West Bank. 

The Conflict Rages On [8]

     While it is apparent Palestinians are suffering, many people, especially those in the United States, believe Israel is doing nothing wrong. They argue Israel is justified in doing everything they have done thus far. For example, one counterargument against the idea that Israel is taking water from the Palestinians comes up when dealing with who has the rights to the water beneath the West Bank. Supporters of Israel say they  have just as much right if not more to the water underneath the West Bank than the Palestinians do. The occupation is the supposed justification, a sort of colonialism driven by their necessity to survive. They apparently not only have the right, but the obligation to take the water that they need, deeming that aquifer as an international source of water with the Palestinians just at the short end of the stick. To that I point out that the occupation of the West Bank, along with the other harsh treatment Israel subjects Palestinians to, has been deemed illegal by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the rest of the council [9]. This takes away any justification Israel has in its acquisition of water from Palestinian territory. Also, while Palestinians may have access to it, Israel, through the occupation, has limited the number of wells Palestinians are able to drill by forcing Palestinians to acquire permits before drilling new wells. Most applications for permits are turned down, while many are approved and then fail to see any action done.

     In the end, the United States has to be the one to start the peace process. As Israel's closest ally and supplier of over $15,750,000,000 in aid from now until 2018, we are in a position unlike any other in the world [10]. If we just sit around and do nothing, people in the West Bank and Gaza will continue to suffer. We cannot justify our lack of action by saying Israel is "one of our closest allies in the region [11]." Nothing can justify what is going on in the West Bank and Gaza. The thousands of deaths suffered on both sides must stop. The multitude of families affected by casualties on both sides must cease to increase. The conflict that has been raging for decades upon decades must finally come to a close. There is no possibility for peace until the water crisis is handled and the United States decides to hold Israel responsible for its actions.

Works Cited

[1] "The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Total Casualties" Last updated 2012, http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/casualtiestotal.html

[2] "Core Issues of the Palestinian-Israeli Water Dispute" Applied Research Instituted-Jerusalem, http://www.nad-plo.org/userfiles/file/Reports/core.pdf

[3] "Israelis get four-fifths of scarce West Bank water, says World Bank" The Guardian, Rory McCarthy, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/27/israel-palestinian-water-dispute

[4] John Rawls, Justice as Fairness. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2001

[5] Evan Brown, December 12, 2010 (5:34 p.m.), "GeoCurrents Community Research", http://geocurrentscommunity.blogspot.com/2010/12/water-politics-in-israeli-palestinian.html

[6] "Conflict in the Promised Land", Oct. 24, 2012, http://usforeignpolicy4.wordpress.com/

[7] Thomas Nagel, "Justice, Justice, Shalt Thou Pursue", The New Republic; Oct 25, 1999; 221, 17; ProQuest pg. 36

[8] "Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Classroom Simulation", http://geography.mrdonn.org/palestine.html

[9] Irwin Arieff, "UN Chief Annan Calls on Israel to End 'Illegal Occupation'", Common Dreams, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines.shtml?/headlines02/0312-08.htm

[10] Mitchell Bard, "U.S. Aid To Israel", Jewish Virtual Library, last updated Jan 2012, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines.shtml?/headlines02/0312-08.htm

[11] Ian Schwartz, "Obama: Israel "One Of Our Closest Allies In The Region", Real Clear Politics, posted on Sep 23, 2012, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2012/09/23/obama_israel_one_of_our_closest_allies_in_the_region.html

[Video] Associated Press "Amnesty: Israel Restricts Palestinians' Water" posted 2009, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NOfJfAnrmQ