But water experts say the main cause of the problem is not illegal activities, but the unavailability of water resources for Palestinians and the mismanagement and diversion of the Jordan River. The latest bilateral water deal calls for Israel to sell 32 million cubic meters of water to the Palestinian Authority – 22 of which will go to the West Bank for 3.3 shekels ($0.9) per cubic meter, while the rest would be distributed to the Gaza Strip for 3.2 shekels per cubic meter. Under the Oslo Accords, signed between the Palestinians and Israel more than two decades ago, Israel has retained control of most water resources in the West Bank (80 percent), while the remaining 20 percent went to the Palestinians. But the agreements, which were supposed to be temporary, resulted in Israelis consuming four times more water per person than Palestinians. This $900 million plan for Rottote, sponsored by the World Bank and approved in 2013, aims to increase the water supply to Israel, the Palestinians and Jordan by diverting water from the Red Sea, converting some of it to fresh water and pumping the surplus of the desalination process into the Dead Sea. thus reconstituting its diminishing values. The signing of the 1993 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (Oslo I) and the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and Gaza Strip (Oslo II) between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization provided a historic opportunity to move from conflict to cooperation on common water resources. Unlike many other peace agreements, water was codified in the Oslo Accords because it was understood that water sharing was crucial for human security, economic development and regional cooperation. In particular, the Oslo Accords called for the establishment of a Joint Water Committee (JWC) during a transitional period prior to final status negotiations, composed of an equal number of members from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, whose tasks would include the coordinated management of water resources and water and sanitation systems in the West Bank3 Oslo II, Article 40 on water and wastewater recognizes palestinian water rights in the West Bank and the need to develop an additional water supply. Oslo II also described specific amounts of water to be allocated to the Palestinian population, mainly from the eastern mountain aquifer in the West Bank.
The United States did not play a major role in the negotiations that led to the October 1994 Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, although Clinton did lend her support by receiving King Hussein and Rabin in Washington and urging Congress to cancel Jordan`s debt. Nor did the United States play a decisive role in the negotiations that led to the Cairo Agreement of May 1994, which completed Israel`s withdrawal from most of Gaza and Jericho, or the Taba Agreement (or ”Oslo II”) of September 1995. The latter agreement divided the West Bank into separate territories under Israeli control, Palestinian control and Israeli military responsibility with the Palestinian Civil Administration. Oslo II also included provisions on elections, civil law issues and other forms of bilateral Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on various issues. Since the Oslo Accords did not confer oversight tasks on the United States, the Clinton administration was largely limited to defusing crises and building the Palestinian Authority with economic and security assistance. On the same day, the White House issued a statement hailing the new agreement as ”another indication that the parties are capable of working together to achieve mutually beneficial results.” However, the Oslo Accords did not lead to better access to water for Palestinians, but did formalize an existing discriminatory agreement. Today, this leads to a lack of water for Palestinians compared to abundant supplies for those living in Israel and in Israeli settlements established in violation of international humanitarian law in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. In fact, more than half a million Israeli settlers in the West Bank consume about six times more water than the Palestinian population of 2.6 million. After omitting this broader issue of Palestinian rights to water resources, the plan is downplayed by some experts as a simple basic agreement to describe how much water the PA can buy. The agreement does not address the basic concept of water as a common resource, critics say.
The latest bilateral agreement, which does not increase the Palestinians` water quota in the Jordan River, makes a situation permanently unsustainable and guarantees Israel the lion`s share of its water, reinforcing the status quo, Buttu said. Since the Oslo II Accords were declared an interim agreement, many aspects remain vague. .