The Issue of Water between Israel and the Palestinians
Principal Conclusions Regarding Implementation of the Water Agreement
State of Israel - Water Authority - March 2009
www.water.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/A111EFEF-3857-41F0-B598-F48119AE9170/0/WaterIssuesBetweenIsraelandthePalestinians.pdf

Principal Conclusions Regarding Implementation of the Water Agreement

a. Israel has met all its obligations according to the Water Agreement, in
terms of the additional quantities of water to the Palestinians, and has,
indeed, even exceeded the requirements.

b. The Palestinians are seriously defaulting on their obligations according
to the Water Agreement primarily on two important items:

1) Drilling of Unauthorized "Pirate" Wells - the Palestinians drill water
wells without the approval of the JWC(Joint Water Committtee), principally
in the northern West Bank; to date, more than 250 unapproved wells have been
drilled.

2) Failure to treat wastewater - the Palestinians are not constructing
wastewater treatment plants and discharge their wastewater to streams,
contaminating the environment and the groundwater. Some of the wastewater
flows into Israeli territory.

c. The Palestinians are not developing and using, quite deliberately, the
groundwater resources in the eastern aquifer that were made available to
them in the Water Agreement. (This resource has an additional useable
quantity of at least 40 MCM/yr. The JWC approves every request for drilling
of wells in the eastern aquifer.) As a result, Israel is compelled to supply
more than 30 MCM/yr from its territory to the Palestinians.