Israel, Palestinians announce US-brokered water-sharing deal

Israel and the Palestinians said Thursday they reached a water-sharing deal to increase fresh water supplies for Jordan, the Palestinians and Israel and revitalize the Dead Sea's falling water levels.

The deal, a modest but promising breakthrough announced during the latest visit by U.S. Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt, stipulates that Israel will increase water sales to the Palestinian Authority by 20 million to 30 million cubic meters (5.3 billion to 7.9 billion gallons) a year.

Greenblatt, who helped mediate the water deal as part of the U.S. administration's efforts to revive the moribund peace process, expressed hope that it would lead to more progress on other, more contentious issues.

Speaking at his first news conference in Jerusalem since launching a series of visits in March, Greenblatt said, "Water is a precious commodity in the Middle East. The United States welcomes the agreement reached by the Palestinian Authority and the government of Israel."

He said Israel would sell up to 33 million cubic meters (8.7 billion gallons) of water to the Palestinians annually at a reduced rate. The water is a fraction of Palestinian needs, but will bring some relief to areas suffering from chronic shortages, especially during the hot summer. A third of the water will be delivered to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israel, the Palestinians and Jordan are discussing a number of potential water projects, including the construction of a desalination plant in Aqaba, Jordan, that will produce at least 80 million cubic meters (21 billion gallons) of water annually to serve residents on both sides of the border. Under an agreement signed with Jordan in 2015, Israel will buy up to 40 million cubic meters (11 billion gallons) of that at cost each year.

Greenblatt declined to comment on the administration's efforts to get peace talks back on track, but all sides expressed hope that the water deal could serve as a jumping off point for further agreements.

"All of us in this room proved last night that water can serve as a means for reconciliation, for prosperity, for cooperation, rather than be a cause for tension and dispute," Israeli Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said. "When you focus on the issues and not about history or background or personal emotions or other disturbing elements, the common denominator is much bigger than what separates us."

Mazen Ghoneim, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said the agreement would help meet Palestinian needs but did not have any bearing on final status negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump has tasked Greenblatt with kick-starting the stalled peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Greenblatt met with Israeli officials in Jerusalem on Wednesday and with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday.

On Monday, Israeli and Palestinian officials signed an agreement to provide additional electricity to Palestinian residents of the northern West Bank. Greenblatt touted both agreements as "an example of the parties working together to make a mutually beneficial deal."

"We hope that this deal will contribute to the healing of the Dead Sea and that it will help not only Palestinians and Israelis, but Jordanians as well," he said.

"I am proud of the role that the United States and our international partners have played in helping the parties reach this deal, and I hope it is a harbinger of things to come."

Gidon Bromberg, co-director of EcoPeace, an Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian environmental organization, applauded Greenblatt's success "in identifying that water is a low-hanging fruit issue and that moving forward on water issues has an important contribution to the welfare" of the people.

Thursday's announcement followed a preliminary agreement sponsored by the World Bank and signed by Israel, the Palestinians and Jordan in 2013 to build a pipeline to channel water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea and help address water scarcity in the region.

The plan calls for the construction of a 180-kilometer (112-mile) 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.

Hanegbi estimated it would take another four to five years to complete the $900 million endeavor.

The idea of a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea was first floated by the British in the 1850s as an alternative to the Suez Canal. Many plans have since been proposed, mainly aiming to preserve the Dead Sea.

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