The geological facts and Israel’s actual policies, which were of no interest to the Times, are relevant. Rain water that falls on the mountains of the West Bank and percolates through porous surface rock into the aquifer far below then naturally flows downwards toward the Israeli coastline. There, as has been the case for generations, water collects, rising close to the surface in natural springs, such as Rosh Ha’ayin, inside Israel. Even in the 1950’s – before Israel controlled the West Bank – it used 95 percent of the western aquifer’s water, and 82 percent of the northeastern aquifer’s water, because it was in Israel that the waters were easily accessible.
Nor is there a rationale on legal grounds to suggest Palestinian ownership of such West Bank water. Israel’s development of the water resources, including the draining of swamps where such water accumulated at ground level, and its long prior use of the water give it rights in the same way Egypt has internationally recognized rights to the waters of the Nile, which flow from and through Ethiopia, Rwanda, Eritrea, Sudan, and a half dozen other nations before reaching Egypt. Is Egypt stealing Ethiopian water? By Tarazi’s reasoning, yes.
Equally ludicrous is Tarazi’s charge that Israel is offering Palestinians “independence” (he mocks the notion with scare quotes) on a “reservation stripped of water…” Not only has Israel not stripped the West Bank and Gaza of water, it has greatly augmented water for the Palestinian Arabs, connecting hundreds of villages to the Israeli water system, digging or authorizing the digging of wells and directly pumping millions of cubic meters of water from Israel into both areas. In the period from 1967 to 1995 West Bank Palestinians increased their domestic water use by 640 percent, from 5.4 MCM to 40 MCM.
When the Palestinian Authority gained control of the territories, rampant uncontrolled well-drilling ensued, severely damaging water resources in Gaza and the Jenin area. While it is understandable that Tarazi would be silent about the dereliction of the Palestinians, preferring to blame Israel, the question is why The New York Times was a partner in this.
Just as false as Tarazi’s allegations of Israeli colonizing and theft of natural resources was the brazen claim of apartheid-like discrimination against Christian and Muslim Arabs of the West Bank. The argument is breathtaking. In a column offering not a hint about the Palestinian terrorist onslaught originating from the West Bank that prompted Israel’s erection of checkpoints and intensified screening of Palestinian travelers, the PLO writer claims the differing license plates of citizens of Israel compared to those of Palestinian residents of the West Bank demonstrates racist separation of non-Jews from Jews.
The Times was untroubled by conflicting information, such as the fact that, except in emergencies, Palestinian Arabs moved freely in the West Bank on virtually any road and even across the Green Line prior to September 2000, which marked the launching of the new terror campaign against Israel.
Nor did the paper see a contradiction in the fact that Muslim and Christian Israelis driving vehicles with Israeli license plates have been among the victims of attacks on West Bank roads since 2000.
But the nub of Tarazi’s charge regarding Israeli apartheid is the claim that Palestinians of the West Bank live in a “de-facto” state with Jews yet, “as non-Jews,” cannot vote and receive citizens’ benefits.
Of course, they are denied these rights not because of their religion or ethnicity but because they are not citizens. The territory on which West Bank Palestinians live remains in dispute pending negotiations and agreement on “secure and recognized boundaries” under the terms of UN Security Council Resolution 242. Extending citizenship to the Palestinians would constitute annexation of the territory.