Avec Jérusalem et les réfugiés, l’eau est au coeur du débat entre Israéliens et Palestiniens. Et qui dit litige à propos de l’eau entre ces deux parties, dit obligatoirement aquifère de la montagne. Après avoir pris en compte les susceptibilités exacerbées des uns et des autres, deux conclusions s’imposent : la première est que seule une gestion conjointe de cet aquifère permettra de préserver la qualité de son eau. La seconde est qu’en dépit de son importance cruciale pour les deux parties, une solution peut-être trouvée à ce problème afin que l’eau ne soit jamais un obstacle insurmontable sur la voie de la paix.
Mekorot is the company that controls and manages water in Israel - it is a state-run monopoly. Here, a Mekorot security guard keeps watch over the Large Reservoir. This reservoir holds water pumped from Lake Kinneret (also known as the Sea of Galilee) before they are sent to Jerusalem and the Negev Desert. Water from the lake accounts for 40% of the country's water consumption.
WEL0109834x © Laurent Weyl
Mekorot is the company that controls and manages water in Israel - it is a state-run monopoly. This drilled well, near Lake Kinneret (also known as the Sea of Galilee), over a local aquifer called the Lower Galilee, should compensate for the dryness that has affected the region over the last 7 years. While Israel has drilled new wells or deepened old ones for its own use for years now, the government prevent Palestinians from doing so, or at least limits them enormously, and does this in spite of the growth in population and the consequent increase in water needs.
WEL0109837x © Laurent Weyl
Mekorot is the company that controls and manages water in Israel - it is a state-run monopoly. Here, one of the turbines of the Sappir Pumping Station pumps water from Lake Kinneret (also known as the Sea of Galilee). Water from the lake accounts for 40% of the country's water consumption. The pumping factory was dug into the mountain for security reasons, because during its construction in the early '60s the Syrians were firing from the Golan Heights towards Israel and Lake Kinneret.
WEL0109909x © Laurent Weyl
Mekorot is the company that controls and manages water in Israel - it is a state-run monopoly. Here, one of the turbines of the Sappir Pumping Station pumps water from Lake Kinneret (also known as the Sea of Galilee). Water from the lake accounts for 40% of the country's water consumption. The pumping factory was dug into the mountain for security reasons, because during its construction in the early '60s the Syrians were firing from the Golan Heights towards Israel and Lake Kinneret.
WEL0109861x © Laurent Weyl
A rare image for the West Bank, the drill of a Palestinian well in Al-Rashida. Even though this site is situated in Zone A, under Palestinian control, it is the state of Israel that grants them the right to drill and decides on the depth of the pit and the quantity of water allowed. Here, authorisation was granted to pump 250 cubic metres per hour, whereas the well could provide 400.
WEL0109851x © Laurent Weyl
The West Bank, in Zone A, under Palestinian control. The Herodion well situated in this zone is Israelian and provides water for Israel. At present, 80% of the water pumped in the West Bank is distributed to Israelis, notably to Jewish settlements.
WEL0109844x © Laurent Weyl
In the city of Gaza. Drinkable water wells managed by the authorities. Either the inhabitants get their supply directly from these wells, or the water trucks distribute the water within the city. The Gaza Strip is a concrete example of the consequences of water problems. Only 50% of the population has running water but, in any case, it isn't drinkable. The natural balance was disrupted due to an over-consumption of ground water which were sourced to compensate for a lack from hydraulic sources. This caused salinity in the soil and surface water, making it unfit for consumption or for use in certain types of agriculture.
WEL0109840x © Laurent Weyl
In the city of Gaza. Drinkable water wells managed by the authorities. Either the inhabitants get their supply directly from these wells, or the water trucks distribute the water within the city. The Gaza Strip is a concrete example of the consequences of water problems. Only 50% of the population has running water but, in any case, it isn't drinkable. The natural balance was disrupted due to an over-consumption of ground water which were sourced to compensate for a lack from hydraulic sources. This caused salinity in the soil and surface water, making it unfit for consumption or for use in certain types of agriculture.
WEL0109841x © Laurent Weyl
A road that bypasses Palestinian cities (allowing passage between Israeli cities, without crossing Palestinian cities or villages). These roads are an illustration of the tensions between Israel and Palestine.
WEL0109839x © Laurent Weyl
In the West Bank, a man from the village of El Hader, near the city of Bethlehem, draws water from his illegal well. The village has been deprived of water for five months, hence the proliferation of unauthorised wells.
WEL0109838x © Laurent Weyl
Bedouin community of Alrawaeen Al-Khabna near Jerusalem, in the West Bank, under Israeli control. For their water needs, the Bedouin fill water tankers at a well near their camp that is sourced from Jerusalem. Unfortunately a Jewish colony situated before the well deprives them of water from time to time when its personal needs increase. Moreover, Israel has requested that in future this formerly nomadic tribe pay for their water and demands that a 10-year debt be paid. If Israel closes the well, the Bedouin would have to travel 15 km for the nearest water supply.
WEL0109850x © Laurent Weyl
Shifa Hospital, Gaza. A young boy receives dialysis due to a kidney deficiency contracted from drinking the salted water of Gaza. The Gaza Strip is a concrete example of the consequences of water problems. Only 50% of the population has running water but, in any case, it isn't drinkable. The natural balance was disrupted due to an over-consumption of ground water which were sourced to compensate for a lack from hydraulic sources. This caused salinity in the soil and surface water, making it unfit for consumption or for use in certain types of agriculture.
WEL0109842x © Laurent Weyl
Shifa Hospital, Gaza. A man receives dialysis due to a kidney deficiency contracted from drinking the salted water of Gaza. The Gaza Strip is a concrete example of the consequences of water problems. Only 50% of the population has running water but, in any case, it isn't drinkable. The natural balance was disrupted due to an over-consumption of ground water which were sourced to compensate for a lack from hydraulic sources. This caused salinity in the soil and surface water, making it unfit for consumption or for use in certain types of agriculture.
WEL0109843x © Laurent Weyl
The Jewish Colony of Anatot near Jericho in the West Bank.
WEL0109853x © Laurent Weyl
A day camp outing for children from Jewish colonies. The spring of Ein Prat, situated beneath the Jewish colony of Anatot in the West Bank, originates from the Waddi Kelt River which begins in Jerusalem and heads towards Jericho. It is called 'blue gold'. This name is very apt considering that in the Middle East water is often more scarce than oil. Israel is one of the countries of the world suffering from serious hydraulic stress (there is less than 1000 cubic metres of water available per year per head of population).
WEL0109859x © Laurent Weyl
Ein Gedi is a nature reserve where people come to bathe under the waterfalls. It is called 'blue gold'. This name is very apt considering that in the Middle East water is often more scarce than oil. Israel is one of the countries of the world suffering from serious hydraulic stress (there is less than 1000 cubic metres of water available per year per head of population).
WEL0109855x © Laurent Weyl
Gaza Strip. In most cases, ground water - which has become too salty for agricultural purposes - has to be sourced from official (illegal) freshwater wells situated several kilometres from the crops. Israel is prepared to sell freshwater from Lake Kinneret, but the allotted price is too high and doesn't make economic sense for the growers. Furthermore, there is a lack of technology. In the West Bank and Gaza, only 6% of Palestinian farms are irrigated...
WEL0109845x © Laurent Weyl
The Ramat Centre for Agronomic Research, Negev Desert, Israel. Here, a unique technique is being developed: the cultivation of plants using salt water, of the kind found in large quantities under the surface of the Negev Desert. In this image, a hothouse is being prepared for the cultivation of tomatoes using salt water, irrigating them drop by drop. Israel possibly provides the best model in the world for water management in agriculture. This is of capital importance in a country suffering from hydraulic stress and whose annual water consumption for agricultural needs represents 70% of total consumption.
WEL0109847x © Laurent Weyl
Reen fish farm. Negev Desert, Israel. The largest fish farm in Israel is found in the middle of the desert. This one uses salt water from the aquifer lying beneath the Negev Desert.
WEL0109849x © Laurent Weyl
Hot springs in the Negev Desert. Water is truly precious. When it is salty and undrinkable, it is used, as here, to bathe in.
WEL0109848x © Laurent Weyl