Ramzi el Houry writes for Muftah:
The water situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) is critical, and the Israeli government’s systematic exploitation of this vital resource at the expense of sufficient access for the Palestinians constitutes to be a major obstacle to a viable two-state solution. Since its capture of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, Israel has pursued a policy through Military Orders 92 (1967) and 291 (1968) of monopolizing its access to water within the OPT and of routinely denying Palestinians the right to drill wells or repair existing ones. The Oslo II agreement signed in 1995 between the Israelis and the Palestinian Authority (PA) has, in effect, institutionalized this system of exploitation, while settlements within the OPT and the 700 km (435 miles) wall that stretches within the boundaries of the West Bank (henceforth referred to as The Wall) have had the effect of creating conditions on the ground that further exacerbate the Palestinian situation....
The Israeli government views its unrestricted access to West Bank and Gazan water as a non-negotiable right, central to its security. Since 1967, the strict implementation of various military orders by the Israeli occupying forces has amounted to a deliberate policy of denying Palestinians access to water at internationally recognized minimum levels. Moreover, attempts by the Israeli government to create favorable ‘facts on the ground’, either through settlement expansion or through the construction of a wall that cuts through the West Bank’s most fertile areas, is seen as justified within the context of this security-driven agenda. These actions not only flout international law, but contribute to a situation that makes reaching an equitable two-state solution an ever more remote prospect. And while such a position is seen as necessary for maintaining Israel’s security, it comes at the expense of regional stability, which could prove to be much more dangerous in the long term for all parties concerned.