BICOM

Officials from Israel, the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Jordan met this week to finalise a joint plan of action to combat pollution of the Jordan River, which flows through communities of all three populations.

Bilateral peace negotiations between Israel and the PA were frozen in April 2014 after the PA formed a unity government with Hamas. However, on Tuesday and Wednesday, Israeli officials met PA counterparts and Jordanian officials at the Crowne Plaza hotel on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea to discuss a common response to the pollution of the Jordan River, which flows from Lake Kinneret in northern Israel to the Dead Sea, but has been reduced to a trickle in places.

The meeting was coordinated by EcoPeace Middle East and the talks resulted in a 35-year Regional NGO Master Plan for Sustainable Development in the Jordan Valley. It includes plans for 127 projects by 2050, covering water management, pollution, agriculture and tourism. In the short-term, the plan stipulates that during the next five years the Jordan River will be considerably cleaned with the aim of restoring a “deep and wide” body of water by 2025.

Israel’s Deputy Regional Cooperation Minister Ayoub Kara said “There is fertile ground here for cooperation.” Given that “This is one of the most important rivers for believers from all over the world,” Kara added that there is ample opportunity to build “bridges for peace.” PA Deputy Agriculture Minister Abdullah Lahlouh commented “Adopting these measures will help build confidence between the parties and improve the daily lives of Palestinians, Israelis, and Jordanians.”

The common concern for water has been the source of additional recent joint ventures. In December 2013, Israel, Jordan and the PA signed an agreement in Washington to lay a water pipeline linking the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. The project, known as the Two Seas Canal, will carry 100 million cubic meters of water each year to be shared between the three populations.