Work on Palestinian/Israeli water sharing deal begins

Описание: (7 Aug 2017) LEADIN:
A US-brokered water sharing deal between Israel and the Palestinian territories has started being implemented.
The deal was reached last month and is bringing an increased water supply to thousands of Palestinian families.
STORYLINE:
Water trucks line up in Hebron to refill before making more deliveries across the West Bank city.
Ongoing water shortages, especially during the hot summer, mean this is a daily ritual to ensure many Palestinian residents have enough clean water.
The trucks deliver their load and fill up the wells that many families share.
Hebron resident Khaled Al-Taweel says buying water each month is taking a financial toll.
"We are nine families here and half of our salary goes every month on buying water," he says.
Hebron has been one of the worst hit areas for water supply cuts. Some residents complain of having to wait between 7 to 10 days to get a delivery.
A new water deal, brokered by the United States, was reached last month between Israel and the Palestinians to help alleviate the shortage.
Israel will now sell up to 33 million cubic metres of water to the Palestinian Authority annually at a reduced rate. 22 million cubic metres will go to the West Bank and the rest will be allocated to the Gaza Strip.
The President of Palestinian Water Authority, Mazen Ghuneim says it's a modest increase and residents should notice a difference within the next two years.
"We already have change this year but next year we will have 11 thousand cubic metres pumped daily into the storage so we are talking about 22 thousand cubic metres more because the previous agreement with the Israeli side was 13 thousand cubic metres on this line."
The water deal was announced during the latest visit by the US Mideast envoy.
Jason Greenblatt, who helped mediate the water deal as part of the Trump administration's efforts to revive the moribund peace process, expressed hope that it would lead to more progress on other, far more contentious issues.
Ghuneim is also hopeful that it will help promote further peace in the region.
The water is a fraction of Palestinian needs, but will bring some relief to areas suffering from chronic shortages, especially during the hot summer.
Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Jordan are discussing a number of potential water projects, including the construction of a desalination plant in Aqaba, Jordan, to serve residents of both sides of the border.
They also signed a preliminary agreement in 2013 to build a pipeline to channel water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to help address water scarcity in the region.
The plan calls for the construction of a 180 kilometre (112 miles) channel, along with hydroelectric and desalination plants in Jordan, with joint Israeli-Jordanian administration and financing.
One proposal involves feeding brine from the desalination plant into the Dead Sea in a bid to replenish its receding waters, though environmentalists question the feasibility of such a move.
That project is expected to be completed in four to five years.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...