Israel, Jordan, Palestinians Strike Water-Sharing Deal | Hacker News Reader

Israel, Jordan, Palestinians Strike Water-Sharing Deal

npr.org

Comment from original article sums it up nicely:

"So Jordan gets a shiny new water plant; Israel gets more resources to colonize the Negev Desert, and the Palestinians "get" to pay Israel for water that comes from a Palestinian aquifer." - joewmitchell

How is that a Palestinian aquifer? The water comes from the Jordan river and the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret), both are indisputably Israeli (and the river is partly Jordanian).

The source of the water is mainly in the Golan heights (again Israel) and partly in Lebanon (and governed by treaty with Israel).

"colonize the Negev Desert"?? So Israel can't populate its own lands either?

The phrase "colonize the Negev Desert" is incorrect in this context. Generally when people use the word "colonize" to refer to Israeli activities they are referring to building in the West Bank, which Israel has been occupying since the 1967 Six Day War. Many see Israeli efforts to build in the West Bank as illegitimate attempts to create "facts on the ground" that would perpetuate Israeli sovereignty over territory that it has no legal claim to.

The Negev Desert, by contrast, has been Israeli territory since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 and was part of the Jewish state in the 1947 Partition Plan. As far as international law is concerned, Israel developing the Negev is no different than, say, Poland building in Gdansk or the United States building in Hawaii.

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive on this subject, but my immediate reaction when I see this headline (and the quote here from Zaheer) is how Isreal and Jordan is emphesized as independent states, while Palestinians is cut off in their own second-class group, seemingly without any country or independence (and hence rights).

Why? They've been recognized as a sovereign state for ages by pretty much everyone except Israel, which keeps stealing more of their land. In turn their homes, fertile lands and crops. And now even their water.

Why do we need to push Israel's agenda? Why these shady and slimy tactics?

How are they a sovereign state? The land was Israel for a millennia till conquered by Arabs and then the Ottomans. (To summarize massively.)

And now it's back to being Israel. There never was a country of "Palestine".

People keep saying:

> which keeps stealing more of their land

Which isn't at all true - Palestinians are stealing land from Israel.

Either you believe in the right of conquest or you don't. If you do then Israel won that land and that's done. If you don't then go back as far as you can and it's Israel. (The Canaanites don't exist anymore.)

In no version do the Palestinians have any claim except that they are living there so they have to figure out a way to coexist. That makes them residents or citizens, but it doesn't make a country.

> And now even their water.

It's not their water. Even Palestinians don't think it's their water. It's opinions like yours that keep fanning the flames of war by giving them something else to fight over that was never a reason before.

If you go back that far then you have to agree America isn't a sovereign state either, right?

Personally I believe in the right of conquest, so I don't have to agree about that.

I mentioned it just in case there is someone who doesn't believe in it (which would cause them no end of trouble dealing with the reality of current nations - but somehow only Israel is singled out).

Israel won those wars (which it did not start I should point out) over that land and that's all there is to it.

The situation in regard to what is and is not a state is more complicated and subtle than you make it out to be. This Quora answer provides a good summary of the situation: http://qr.ae/IsPAq

There's a very insightful documentary on the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, featuring 6 former directors of Shabak (Israel Security Agency). I highly recommend it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2309788/

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