BLESSED AND CURSED RIVER
Israel has control over the headwaters of the Jordan River and holds the rights to use
the groundwater in the Jordan River Basin. The diversion of water from Jordan to new
wide-ranging cultivated fields in the Negev Desert has ruined Middle Jordan, and seriously
damaged the Dead Sea.
Palestinians in the West Bank have no access to the Jordan and are prohibited from drilling
new wells. In addition to having considerable water supply for irrigation, every Israeli
has about 341 liters per day of good quality water for urban and industrial uses, while each
Palestinian barely have access to 60 liters per day of poor-quality water for the same uses,
resulting in survival issues and serious health problems.
Text: Marisancho Menjón
Photography: Stefano Serra, Laurent Weyl and Dieter Telemans
