Introduction: THE REGION OF ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

24 questions that might help you solve the presentation of the Israeli-Palestinian issue...

10. Why is water distribution a problem?HOW IS WATER DISTRIBUTED IN WEST BANK?

1. The western basin of the Mountain Aquifer, the Yarkon-Tanninim

2. The northern basin is called the Nablus-Gilboa Aquifer

3. The eastern basin

Water resources in West Bank

340 M cubic meters / year domestic use of 2.5 M Israeli civilians

20 M m3 / yearPalestinians

115 M m3 / year, Agricultural irrigation in the kibbutzim and moshavim in the northern valleys

25 M m3 / yearPalestinians

40 M cubic meters / yearIsraeli agricultural settlements in the

Jordan Valley

60 M m3 / yearPalestinians

ISRAELI POPULATION’S CONSUMPTION

PALESTINIAN POPULATION’S CONSUMPTION

ISRAELI 495 Million m3 PALESTINIAN 105 Million m3

A clear inequality in water sharing

Israel is using about 80 percent of the groundwater basins in the West Bank (which meets 25 percent of its water needs)

Palestinians are denied the right to exploit water resources from the Jordan River since 1967. They also face brackish water and water shortages.

Water consumption by Palestinians

is approximately 73 litres per capita per day (l/c/d)

compared to about 300 l/c/d for Israelis

around four times lower

11. How is water from Lake Tiberias carried and how does it split the land?

The national water carrier

Most of the fresh water is carried to the coastline, steering clear of the Palestinian West Bank cities.

12. What makes that region a crossroads?

The Levant is an in-between region…

At the age of Empires:Between Egypt / Mesopotamia

At the age of commercial routes: India / EthiopiaArab Peninsula / Mediterranean

Under the AssyriansUnder the Canaanites

13. How was the region named in History? Is there a clear identity?

1300 BCE 900-600 BCE

Judah, Manasseh, … Judah, Egypt

Under the Romans (Time of Herod)

Under the Jewish kingdoms

Under the Romans (after the Jewish

diaspora)

1000 BCE 20 BCE 70 – 120 CE

Judah, Israel, Edom, Philistine Judah, Samaria, Galilea Palestina, Arabia

Under the Crusaders

Under the Ottoman rule

Under the Abbassids

8-9th c CE 11-12th CE 15th c BCE - 1921

Syria, Palestine Latin states Vilayet of Beirut, Sanjaks

Under the Ottoman rule

The zone was in the « VILAYET » (administrative

province) of Beirut

This Vilayet was split into « SANJAKS » (disctrict), i.e. a land linked to a banner / flag = an aristocratic power led by

governors

The Levant region was also viewed as a Syrian or Transjordan territory

Under the British Under the UN Proposal (1947)

1919 - 1947 CE 1947 - 48 CE

You notice that Jordan should be a

« Palestinian state » today...

Transjordan and Palestine Israel / Palestine

Then, how have the lands changed hands since 1945?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2011/sep/14/map-israel-palestinian-territories

Watch the interactive map

1973 -

Philistines

Zionist Palestinians

Arab-Muslim Palestinians

Who’s who?

Zionists and British call future Jewish inhabitants “Palestinians”

Balfour Declaration, 1917: “His Majesty's government view with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country”

14. Why did Zionists call their Jewish homeland « Palestine »?

1170 BCE

Philistine Hebrew language: "to divide", "go through", "to roll in”, “to invade"

A feeling of Palestinian nationality emerged slowly in the Palestinian refugee diaspora (1947-48); but was their an Arab Palestinian identity before?

First, why the Romans called that place « Palestine »:

Palestine philistine = the principal enemies of the Jews

The Romans named « Palestine » the land they were disputing to the Jews; they tried to erase the Jewish identity from the land.

Knowing this, why did the Zionists call that place « Palestine » in the 19th c.?!

The Zionists (in Europe and USA) were studying maps of the Roman period, so they just reused (by mistake) the name of « Palestine »

TO RECAP...

The land changed hands so many times that it’s hard to say « I was there first » or « This land is strictly mine ». It isn’t historically possessed, but punctually controlled. The land’s name is a matter of misunderstanding for everyone

The Palestinian lands given in 1948 were said to cross the Jordan river, but the Jordans expelled the « Arab Palestinian » residents to establish their regime

In 1947, the Egyptians also rejected the creation of a Palestinian state; then they accepted the Gaza strip only