About 20 years ago, a scientific study funded by the European Union, with the participation of researchers from Palestine, Israel, Italy, and France, came to the conclusion that the groundwater aquifer in the Gaza Strip will not become fit for use after 25 years due to the high rate of salinity. They identified the reasons that lead to this, the first of which is The natural flow of salty water that comes from the aquifer east of the Gaza Strip from inside Israel, and mixes with the aquifer in the Gaza Strip.
At that time, the research team led by geochemist Avner Vengosh from Ben Gurion University in Beersheba determined; A solution to this problem could come from within Israel, within the framework of what is known as “science diplomacy.” However, the “Al-Aqsa flood” on the seventh of last October came to add a new reason for the Gaza Strip’s water to be taken out of service five years before the date specified by the study, by poisoning it with white phosphorus, which Israel used in this war with an intensity that exceeded previous wars. .
“Science diplomacy,” from which this study began, refers to engaging in scientific cooperation as a means of building trust, enhancing goodwill, supporting understanding between nations, and overcoming differences. Within the framework of this concept, the study proposed a project to treat groundwater in the Gaza Strip as a means of understanding and rapprochement between the Strip and Israel. The researchers participating in the study said at the time that the political context does not allow for this, but it may allow it in the future, but with the war going on now, the hydrologist at Al-Quds University, Amer Marei – is The Palestinian researcher participating in the study said in a telephone interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net: “We were dreaming, and we have the right as researchers to dream, but it seems that they were just illusions.”
Diagnosing the problem…a solution out of context
About 1.2 million people in the Gaza Strip depend on water from the southern Mediterranean coastal aquifer, which lies underground and extends into Israel.
The researchers, led by geochemist Avner Vengosh of Ben Gurion University in Beersheba, found that drinking water in the Gaza Strip usually contains more than a gram of sodium chloride per liter, far exceeding the legal limit in Europe that makes it At a level of 250 to 600 mg in Israel.
They concluded that most of the salt comes from Israel’s aquifer, which flows naturally into the Gaza Strip, and then proposed what they say is a relatively simple solution to the problem. They said that salt levels in the water in the Gaza Strip could be reduced and its quality improved through the following measures:
- Pumping salt water from Israel before it reaches the Gaza Strip And using desalination plants to transform it into clean, drinkable water. The study proposed adding only ten groundwater wells near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, and two small desalination facilities for this purpose.
- Reducing the amount of water withdrawn from the groundwater aquifer in Gaza.
Study leader Avner Vengosh said, “Israel’s implementation of these measures will enable Palestinians to benefit from improved water, and Israel will gain goodwill, while only losing saline water that it was not using anyway.”
How does the problem come from inside Israel?
The responsibility of the flow coming from Israel on the salinity of groundwater in the Gaza Strip is not a new matter that Vengosh and his research team reveal. Last February, the Journal of African Earth Science published a study conducted by researcher Ashraf Mushtaha from the Water Authority of the Coastal Municipalities in the Gaza Strip. In cooperation with the Belgian researcher at the Applied Geology and Hydrogeology Laboratory at Ghent University, Christine Wallervens, he revealed three main sources of groundwater salinity in the Gaza Strip, among which was the aquifer in Israel.
The results of Ashraf Mushtaha’s study show three main sources of groundwater salinity:
- Seawater leakage.
- Lateral flow from Eocene rocks in the east or from agricultural return flow from the use of treated wastewater for irrigation in Israel near the eastern border.
- Fossil marine saltwater trapped at the bottom of an aquifer.
Mushtahi did not propose solutions to the problem, but the controversial new study led by geochemist Avner Vengosh of Ben Gurion University, which was presented during the war at the Geological Society of America conference, was unique in doing so, but the solution it proposed seemed more like “utopia,” as Nader describes it. Nour El-Din, Professor of Water Resources at the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University.
Nour El-Din said in a telephone interview with Al-Jazeera Net: “Scientifically, there is not the slightest problem with this solution. Indeed, it can actually help in solving the problem, but it seems that it is illogical in the previous and current political framework, because if Israel wants to show good… An intention, and this is not present in its history, that could have allowed the sector to establish water desalination plants with good technological capabilities and with great international support from the World Bank and financing institutions, instead of private stations with limited capabilities that draw from the groundwater layer without study or oversight.
He adds, “As the number of these stations increased and they moved closer to the sea, this led to seawater leakage, and this, in my opinion, is the main cause of the problem, as excessive pumping of fresh water from coastal aquifers effectively reduces the water level, and this decrease in “The water level is caused by the intrusion of seawater from the nearby ocean into the aquifer. Because seawater has a higher concentration of salinity than fresh water, when it invades coastal aquifers, it raises the salinity levels of groundwater, making the water unsuitable for drinking and agricultural use.”
Before the year 2000, public water wells were located far from the sea, and no seawater leakage was observed, especially in the southern Gaza Strip (Khan Yunis and Rafah governorates). But later, public water wells appeared two kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea, and since then, seawater has begun to seep in due to the heavy withdrawal of groundwater, Nour El-Din explains.
Water justice…absent
Although Nour El-Din tried to capture the scientific dimensions of the study and express an opinion about it in the context of the current political situation, the researcher at the International Center for Advanced Agricultural Studies for the Mediterranean Region in Italy, Ahmed Ayoub, does not see any “regarded” scientific feature in the study, indicating in a telephone interview with “ Tel Aviv Tribune Net”, that its aim is primarily political, and its presentation seems outside the context of reality.
He denounced: “Do we expect Israel, which has been keen since the occupation of the Palestinian territories to ignore water justice, to provide energy sources that allow the operation of water desalination plants to supply the Gaza Strip with it?! What logic can we use to discuss these solutions, especially at the present time in which it is keen to Israel, not only for the absence of water justice, but for the absence of all aspects of life?!”
Ayoub explains that the general basics of water justice, which deals with the Palestinians as human beings who need water like the Israelis, are completely absent, and are evident in the following:
- Inequality of accessas there is a stark contradiction in access to water resources between Palestinians and Israelis, and this appears in that Palestinians often face limited ability to obtain clean water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use compared to Israelis, as citizens in the West Bank share of water – for example Example – a quarter of what an Israeli citizen gets.
- Water ScarcityPalestinian communities often suffer from restrictions on access to adequate water sources. For example, they are not allowed, under any circumstances, to dig groundwater wells or reuse water through treatment plants to use it for other purposes. This affects Scarcity affects daily life, agriculture and economic activities.
- Reliance on external sourcesPalestinians often rely on foreign aid or purchase water from Israeli authorities due to limited access to their own water resources, and this dependence affects their self-sufficiency and sovereignty in managing their water needs.
Ahmed Ayoub says in a sarcastic tone: “When we achieve the basics of water justice, we can then discuss solutions to improve the conditions proposed by that study, which seem outside the context of reality.”
Environmental questions…no answers
The researcher at the International Center for Advanced Agricultural Studies for the Mediterranean region in Italy, Rola Khadra, did not address the political dimensions, and was keen on scientific evaluation only, noting in this context that there are many questions that have not been answered, most notably those related to sustainability, as it is known that the continued withdrawal from the water layer Groundwater will lead to more salinity of water, and will also lead to significant damage to the soil, and this is the most important thing.
Khadra – who is also a member of the Arab Water Council – said in a telephone interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net: “Excessive withdrawal of groundwater will lead to a gradual decrease in the surface of the earth, and this happens when the voids left by the water extracted from the aquifer cause pressure on the covered soil.” And stability, and subsidence can lead to structural damage to buildings, infrastructure, and agricultural land, and lowering the groundwater level by excessive pumping can bring salt water closer to the surface, and this salt water can seep into the soil, leading to its salinization, and can High salt levels in soil stunt plant growth, reduce agricultural productivity and deteriorate soil quality over time.”
After presenting these challenges, she asks: “Have these challenges been studied, how to confront them, and the time frame for the continuation of this proposed project on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, so that excessive withdrawal of groundwater does not cause these problems?”
In the time of white phosphorus…a humanitarian solution
With the energy challenge referred to by Ahmed Ayoub and the environmental challenges presented by Rula Khadra, the head of the irrigation and drainage unit at the Egyptian Desert Research Center, Mohamed Al-Hajry, reused the word “utopia” when speaking to describe this study.
Al-Hajri said in a telephone interview with Al-Jazeera Net: “What we are seeing now confirms this description, as Israel is currently eliminating the future of agriculture and groundwater on the land of Gaza by using white phosphorus with unprecedented intensity.”
He adds: “In the time of white phosphorus, there does not seem to be good intentions, neither today nor tomorrow, because this harmful and deadly element not only affects the present, but also destroys the future.”
The immediate effects of using white phosphorus are that it ignites upon contact with air, causing severe burns and injuries when exposed to the skin. Inhaling its smoke or fumes can cause respiratory problems, lung damage, and chemical pneumonia. The future effects are that it continues In the environment for long periods, it continues to leak into groundwater long after its use in war has stopped.
While Israel continues to use it extensively in the current war since October 7, a Palestinian study by Adnan Muhammad Aish from the Department of Geology at Al-Azhar University reminds us of the environmental damage of its use in the Israeli Operation Cast Lead on Gaza in the period between December 2008 and January. January 2009, it left environmental impacts that were observed two years after that operation.
The researcher found the presence of white phosphorus in agricultural areas at a rate of about 110.9 mg/kg, in non-agricultural areas adjacent to the border at about 63.3 mg/kg, and in urban areas at about 85.2 mg/kg, which are rates higher than the permissible values.
With this Israeli keenness to implement the “scorched earth” policy in Gaza by eliminating life opportunities there, it does not seem that there is any hope for an improvement in the political climate that would allow the implementation of the groundwater project proposed by the joint study by researchers from Palestine and Israel.
Hydrologist Amer Marai from Al-Quds University and one of the participants in the study said in statements reported by the “Nature” website: “Transferring the proposal from the scientific arena to the political arena will require a sponsor such as the World Bank, and an improvement in the political climate in the region, and this does not fit with the agenda.” current politics.”
But he seemed optimistic and said: “This agenda will change to allow for implementation.” However, after seeing what is happening now, he told Tel Aviv Tribune Net: “It seems that our imagination was wide.”