Turning Water into Politics: The Water Issue in the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

by A. Rouyer

Overview

This book examines the water issue in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and peace process. While the water dispute between Israelis and Palestinians seldom grabs newspaper headlines like the issues of Jerusalem or Jewish settlements, no permanent peace accord can be achieved between these two peoples without agreement over allocations of shared water resources. While historical, environmental, and economic dimensions of the issue are examined, the book demonstrates the essential political nature of the dispute and concludes that it can be solved only through political accommodation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312226114
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	11/02/1999
Edition description:	2000
Pages:	297
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

ALWYN ROUYER has been a faculty member of the University of Idaho since 1970 and was department chair from 1981 to 1991. He was selected three times as a Joseph J. Malone Senior Fellow of the National Council for US-Arab Relations, studying Arabic at the American University in Cairo and travelling extensively in the Middle East. He was a Senior Fellow at the W.F. Albright Institute in Jerusalem in 1993-94 and a visiting scholar at Bir Zeit University in 1993-94 and the spring of 1998. In 1998 he taught at the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain. He has published in numerous journals including the American Political Science Review, Survival, Arab Studies Quarterly, South Asia and the Scandinavian Journal of Development Alternatives.

Table of Contents

List of Figures List of Maps List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction: Water and Politics Water Resources: Scarcity and Inequity Water and Israel's Occupation of the Palestinian Territories Zionism and Water: The Shaping of Israel's Water Policies in the Pre-State Period Water and Israel's Search for Security The Political-Economy of Water in Israel The Water Negotiations: Toward the Oslo II Interim Agreement Transition and Stalemate: The Palestinian-Israeli Water Dispute Since the Oslo II Accord Finding Solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli Water Dispute List of Interviewees Index

Editorial Reviews

Recommended for public and academic library collections, lower-division undergraduate and up. Choice

From the Publisher

Counter to the "hydraulic imperative hypothesis" that argues that nations will meet their water needs through forceful acquisition of neighboring territory, Router (political science, U. of Idaho) situates the dispute over water resources in the context of Israeli- Palestinian battles over land and security. Drawing on interviews with some 60 academics and officials on both sides, the author assesses the historical, environmental, economic, and legal dimensions of the water issue in light of trying to implement the Oslo water accords. His solutions stress water sharing, economic restructuring, and large-scale engineering projects. Includes tables on water resources and consumption and several maps. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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