US embassy cable - 04TELAVIV6500

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 006500 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/22/2014 
TAGS: EAID, IS, KWBG, PREL, SENV, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN AFFAIRS, GOI EXTERNAL 
SUBJECT: TRILATERAL WATER TALKS MOVE FORWARD COOPERATION, 
TOUCH ON LONGER-TERM APPROACHES TO WATER SCARCITY 
 
REF: TEL AVIV 3442 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
This is a joint Embassy Tel Aviv - Consulate General 
Jerusalem message. 
 
1. (C) Summary:  Palestinian and Israeli water chiefs and 
their staffs held a thorough exchange focusing on water 
supply issues for Gaza and the West Bank during 
U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian Trilateral Water Talks at USAID 
offices in Tel Aviv December 9.  The Israeli and Palestinian 
officials agreed to address a variety of immediate and 
long-term issues in bilateral Joint Water Committee (JWC) and 
Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meetings later this month. 
Israeli Water Commissioner Shimon Tal and Palestinian Water 
Authority (PWA) Chairman Nabil Sharif agreed on the need to 
engage in long-term planning while cooperating closely on 
immediate supply needs.  Revisiting themes from a meeting 
with Ambassador Kurtzer and Consul General Pearce earlier 
that day, Sharif called for an active U.S. dialogue with the 
Palestinians and resumption of major water projects in the 
Gaza Strip.  Both Tal and Sharif identified desalination 
(desal) as a key factor in handling future supply gaps. 
Coordination of wastewater treatment with water supply 
planning was also highlighted as key to addressing water 
shortages.  Embassy and Consulate General will encourage both 
parties to hold near-term detailed discussions on the impact 
of Gaza disengagement on water supply and infrastructure 
arrangements.  End summary. 
 
IMMEDIATE NEEDS AND A LONG-TERM VISION 
-------------------------------------- 
2. (C) The latest meeting of the Trilateral Water Working 
Group, chaired by NEA Senior S&T Advisor Charles Lawson, was 
held on December 9, less than six months after the last 
session (reftel).  Despite occasional sparring, Israeli and 
Palestinian participants praised the close cooperation of the 
"water club" and emphasized the need to work together even 
more closely on immediate water needs and longer-term 
planning.  PWA Chairman Sharif opened by saying "If we are to 
be a state, we need to have our own source of water.  There 
will be no trade in water and we will be the owners of the 
water source," referring to the suspended Gaza desalination 
project.  (Comment: Although Sharif opened with a hard-line 
statement, he proceeded to soften his tone during the 
meeting, repeatedly reiterating the need for cooperation. 
End Comment).  In the course of the three-hour meeting, 
Sharif and his deputy Fadel Kawash voiced flexibility 
regarding new sources of water supplies, whether from 
jointly-agreed new wells, re-use of wastewater, desal, or 
purchase from Israeli water company Mekorot. 
 
3. (C) Israeli Water Commissioner Tal noted that within 
Israel new supplies would be coming on line from the Ashkelon 
desal plant and from treatment at more than forty wastewater 
effluent points that would yield 150 million cubic meters of 
water over the next two years.  Tal and planning chief Yossef 
Dreizin said it was time to create "a new vision" for the 
future of water in the West Bank and Gaza, as a decade had 
passed since the Interim Agreement.  (Comment:  This was 
clearly an attempt by the Israeli side to begin the thinking 
and planning process towards negotiations on water.  End 
comment).  Kawash detailed water supply problems in the 
northern West Bank.  He also touched on training needs for 
PWA personnel.  Both sides agreed with Lawson's suggestion 
that JWC and JTC meetings later this month review the overall 
water supply situation in the West Bank and then recommend 
how best the USG could assist. 
 
4. (C) Both sides also agreed to a renewed emphasis on 
coordinating water supply and wastewater treatment efforts. 
The Palestinian side and the JWC intend to invite donors to a 
coordination meeting on such projects after the January 9 
Palestinian presidential election, with USAID providing 
technical support for that session as needed.  The Israelis 
and Palestinians also agreed to facilitate new Israeli 
supplies of water for Ramallah, and to agree on a location 
for the Gaza emergency connector before the end of the 
calendar year.  All parties pledged to include public 
awareness outreach efforts to enhance understanding of the 
benefits of wastewater treatment projects, especially for 
farmers who could use treated wastewater for irrigation.  The 
upcoming JWC/JTC meetings will discuss and handle the issue 
of unauthorized wells on the West Bank as a bilateral issue. 
 
LOOKING FURTHER AHEAD 
--------------------- 
5. (C) In separate conversations on the margins of the 
Trilateral Water Working Group meeting, both Tal and Sharif 
told Lawson that they were ready to enter into water 
negotiations whenever their respective leaderships give the 
approval.  At the talks, Sharif stated that both emergency 
needs and long-term planning should work in parallel, calling 
the latter even "more important" than the present needs 
detailed by his deputy.  Tal noted the degradation of the 
quality of water in shared aquifers due to population 
pressures as an added incentive for forward planning.  Sharif 
and Tal agreed they would report back to U.S. colleagues on 
discussions in the JWC and/or JTC on broad future planning, 
including what kind of involvement they want from the USG. 
They also agreed to restore the frequency of the Trilateral 
Meetings, committing to a new round of talks in approximately 
three months. 
 
PWA Chair Urges Stronger U.S. Engagement with Palestinians 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
6. (C) Echoing comments he had made earlier at a working 
breakfast with Lawson and in a private meeting with 
Ambassador Kurtzer and Consul General Pearce that morning, 
Sharif made an impassioned plea for the U.S. to engage with 
Palestinians across the full range of development issues, and 
"...lead the international community back to Gaza," and to 
let the Palestinian public know that the U.S. was making 
major contributions to infrastructure development and poverty 
alleviation.  In their private meeting with Sharif, the 
Ambassador and Consul General emphasized that progress was 
needed on the Palestinian security investigation into the 
October 15, 2003 attack on the USG convoy in Gaza before they 
could recommend resumption of USAID projects in Gaza.  Sharif 
expressed concern that not enough attention was being given 
to the USG role in development projects in the region. 
Middle Easterners see images of the devastation in Iraq 
rather than images highlighting all the contributions that 
the USG has made to develop Iraq. Sharif stressed that a lack 
of USG action in Gaza could compound the negative perception 
of the USG's regional role. 
 
7. (C) In response, the Ambassador and Consul General said 
that Sharif could assist by bringing water issues to the 
forefront with the Palestinian leadership, especially the 
impact the Gaza projects will have on the 1.3 million people 
in Gaza.  The CG noted his sense that to the leadership in 
the West Bank, the Gaza water projects remain somewhat 
abstract assistance projects, since they are not living 
through the very difficult water situation in Gaza.  The more 
the West Bank leadership hears from those living in Gaza 
about the importance of the projects, the better.  Then the 
leadership may come to understand how their actions on 
security issues in Gaza will have a practical effect on the 
Gaza population. 
 
Still to be Addressed:  Disengagement and Water Infrastructure 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
8. (C) Comment:  This latest round of talks was positive and 
bodes well for future cooperation.  At one point, Sharif went 
so far as to say "The Intifada is over...the man is dead." 
This reference to Arafat's passing further emphasized 
Sharif's interest in moving forward.  Despite their 
relatively close collaboration and the progressive atmosphere 
evidenced in the talks, Israeli and Palestinian water 
officials have not yet directly tackled the impact that 
disengagement from Gaza will have on water issues.  The GOI 
has pledged to leave water infrastructure intact, but the 
reality on the ground promises to be more complicated.  The 
Embassy and Consulate General will be encouraging Tal, 
Sharif, and their staffs to look at supply and maintenance 
arrangements, to help avoid collateral damage to water 
infrastructure as settlements are evacuated, and to pay close 
attention to the health of the Coastal Aquifer.  End comment. 
 
 
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KURTZER