Water Rights in the West Bank and in Gaza

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-644 ◽  
Author(s):  
BIRGIT SCHLÜTTER
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
International Law ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Water Rights ◽  
The West ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
The World ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
International Decade

With the launch of the UN International Decade for Water on 22 March 2005, awareness is raised in the international community of the growing demand and scarcity of water for people throughout the world. Water is a particularly scarce resource in both Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The use of the water resources of the West Bank and Gaza has been part and parcel of the Israeli–Palestinian peace negotiations. With the beginning of new peace negotiations under Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, the topic of water and its allocation to Palestinians and Israelis is back on the negotiation table. The present article will point to the water crisis in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and analyse core provisions of international law which govern the use of water resources. Finally, it will outline how an allocation of water rights according to principles of international law could take place.

Sensory Perceptual Experience in Balata Refugee Camp

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-44
Author(s):  
Shahd Adnan M. Qzeih ◽  
Rafooneh Mokhtarshahi Sani
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Mental Image ◽  
Refugee Camp ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
The West ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
The World

Wars and conflicts have caused millions of people to seek asylum outside their homelands and the issue of refugee camps has become a pressing subject in international policy discussions. Conflicts continue to escalate in different parts of the world, especially in Middle Eastern countries. In 1948, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict forced displacement of many Palestinian people. The resulting camps have developed into cluster camp shelters of three to four stories in the West Bank, Gaza, and other regions around historical Palestine; some are perceived to be like gated communities. Being self-sufficient environments, refugee camps have rarely been approached from the perspective of urban psychology. This research deals with sensory perceptual analysis of Balata, the largest refugee camp in the West Bank of Palestinian Territories. Balata is situated in Nablus and has raised four generations of refugees since its establishment. In order to explore the spatial characteristics of such specific environmental experiences, the research adopted a mixed-method approach – systematically evaluating the related literature on sensory perceptual spaces and applying content analysis methods. The study modified the sensory slider tool of Malnar and Vodvarka according to the framework matrix based on the content analysis. Moreover, the case study analysis consisted of observation of the chosen area and 30 in-depth interviews with refugees who were forced out of their homes and settled in the camp as well as some who were born in the camp. The research results show that investigating what camp residents perceive of the five senses can capture meaningful sensory perceptual experiences and can generate a holistic mental image of the refugee camp. Particularly, perceptions of the built environment reflect the difficulty of life experiences. The study concludes that the characteristics of camps in this seventy-year-old conflict environment may not be found in other parts of the world.

The Concept of Autonomy in International Law and the Practice of the United Nations

1980 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 180-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis B. Sohn
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
West Bank ◽  
The Self ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
The West ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
Self Rule

The concept of “autonomy” and the related concepts of “self-rule” and “self-government” are terms of both constitutional law and international law. While they are of ancient origin, their current importance is due to their use in the Camp David Agreement relating to a Framework for Peace in the Middle East, of 17 September 1978. That agreement speaks of: providing “full autonomy to the inhabitants” of West Bank and Gaza; a free election of a “self-governing authority”; giving due consideration to “the principle of self-government by the inhabitants of these territories”; establishing “the elected self-governing authority” in the West Bank and Gaza; negotiating an agreement which will define the powers and responsibilities of “the self-governing authority” to be exercised in the West Bank and Gaza; and beginning the transitional period of five years when “the self-governing authority (administrative council) in the West Bank and Gaza is established and inaugurated.”

Understanding 50 Years of Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Land

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 369-377
Author(s):  
Leila Farsakh
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Gaza Strip ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Sinai Peninsula ◽  
The West ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
One Year ◽  
Israeli Occupation

The year 2017 was important for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, commemorating both the centennial of the Balfour Declaration and the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 war. That war, which resulted in Israel's defeat of three Arab armies and its occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Golan Heights, transformed the politics of the Middle East. According to UN Security Council Resolution 242, issued in November 1967, the occupation was illegal: Israel would have to withdraw from the territories it occupied if it were to achieve peace with its neighbors. In international law, military occupations are temporary by definition. Israel, however, only returned the Sinai to Egypt in 1982. (One year prior, it unilaterally annexed the Golan Heights from Syria.) Despite a twenty-five-year-long political process initiated in 1993, Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza has continued unabated.

scholarly journals Universities in Opposition to Israel’s Military Occupation and the De-development of the West Bank and Gaza

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Hammond
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Aid ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Right To Education ◽  
The West ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
The People ◽  
Global Issue ◽  
The World ◽  
West Bank And Gaza

This paper argues that the violation of justice in Palestine began in 1948 and was deepened in 1967 with the further occupation and de-development of Palestine which continues to this day.  For forty two years, international law has been defied by Israel with one excuse after another that few people accept.  Israel has persistently built more and more settlements and separations that make the basic human right to education and health near impossible for the Palestinians.  Whilst international aid has been necessary, it has been politically ineffective in halting the capture and annexing of more and more Palestinian land.  More Palestinians are removed from Jerusalem every day as violence upon violence is piled on the people of Palestine.  This paper argues that this is unacceptable for the international family of higher education.  It argues that universities around the world should take a political lead in response to the call from Palestinian and other peace workers to build the Boycott, Disinvestment and Sanctions movement in global civil society.  This paper moves the position that history has built up to a point where justice for Palestine is now an undeniable global issue for people of conscience everywhere.  The situation is such that universities cannot step back and leave it to politicians.  Academics and students must speak out and take a lead in ending the day to day abuse of basic Palestinian rights.

scholarly journals Will the water resources of Israel, Palestine and Jordan remain sufficient to permit economic and social development for the foreseeable future?

Water Policy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Chenoweth
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Scenario Analysis ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Gaza Strip ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
The West ◽  
The Status ◽  
Climatic Scenarios ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
The Gaza Strip

Scenario analysis suggests that by 2050 the population of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Jordan will have grown from 17.2 million to between 21.1 and 38.5 million people. These population scenarios are compared to a range of water resource scenarios that consider the effect of climate change, a possible redistribution of the region's shared water resources as a result of a peace agreement, or the status quo. This scenario analysis shows that under all possible population-water scenarios combinations considered, the water resources of Jordan and Israel remain above the minimum threshold required for social and economic development. In the case of the West Bank, water resources may also remain sufficient for all population and climatic scenarios if the West Bank gains a greater portion of the shared water resources. In the Gaza Strip, however, desalination or water imports are required.

The Real Meaning of the Hebron Agreement

1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Edward W. Said
Keyword(s):  
Daily Life ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Information Campaign ◽  
The West ◽  
The Real ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Hype

This essay argues that despite the media hype that surrounded the January 1997 signing of the Hebron protocol, the agreement has done nothing to alter Israel's de facto control over the West Bank and Gaza and in fact demonstrates the Palestinian Authority's acquiescence in continuing Israeli sovereignty. Meanwhile, the media have remained silent about the continuing deterioration of daily life in the Palestinian territories. The author proposes that Palestinians themselves can help to end this silence by organizing an information campaign to expose the inequalities of life in the West Bank and Gaza.

Chronology

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Paul Karolyi
Keyword(s):  
West Bank ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Hunger Strike ◽  
The West ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Palestinian Territories ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Israeli Government ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
The Right

This is part 134 of a chronology begun by the Journal of Palestine Studies in Spring 1984, and covers events from 16 February to 15 May 2017 on the ground in the occupied Palestinian territories and in the diplomatic sphere, regionally and internationally. U.S. pres. Donald Trump leads a new, regional effort to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. With the prospect of peace talks on the horizon, the Israeli government announced a new policy to guide settlement growth in the West Bank, and the Ramallah-based Palestinian leadership struggled to consolidate power. Palestinians in the West Bank elected new local leaders, although the elections were compromised by disagreements among the major political parties. Approximately 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails declared a hunger strike (the Dignity Strike), drawing support from across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, the right-wing Israeli government continued its efforts to undermine and delegitimize its opponents, including the Israeli Left, the Palestinian minority in Israel, and the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. For a more comprehensive overview of regional and international developments related to the Palestine-Israel conflict, see the quarterly Update on Conflict and Diplomacy in JPS 46 (4).

Israel and the United Nations' Human Rights Agenda: The Inequality of Nations Large and Small

1995 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne F. Bayefsky
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
West Bank ◽  
Gaza Strip ◽  
The West ◽  
The World ◽  
West Bank And Gaza ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Equitable Treatment

The Charter of the United Nations proclaims the equality of nations large and small. Nowhere is this principle violated more than in the case of Israel. And nowhere is the inequity more malevolent than in the U.N. human rights system. Reasonable and equitable treatment of a multiplicity of human rights claims throughout the world ought to be one of the hallmarks of United Nations actions. It is not. Instead, for Israel's foes human rights is the rhetorical weapon of choice. And the stage for their campaign is the United Nations. Neither the medium, nor the strategy has changed since the signing of the Oslo Declaration of Principles or the subsequent agreements on the West Bank and Gaza Strip.To well-meaning human rights advocates around the world the United Nations provides a source of hope, a channel for their energies, a vehicle for their causes. Their very presence invests the U.N. human rights fora with an air of legitimacy and an aura of power. The environment is beguiling both to observers and political participants. But looking beyond the hundreds of resolutions, the thousands of pages of paper in six languages, it is possible to expose the malignant nature of the United Nations human rights system.

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