Home > Publications > ERF 26th Annual Conference > Redistributing Water Rights between the West Bank and Israel – More Than a Zero-sum Game?

ERF 26th Annual Conference

Redistributing Water Rights between the West Bank and Israel – More Than a Zero-sum Game?

No.

ERF26_108

Publisher

ERF

Date

July, 2020

Topic

D5. General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium

O2. Development Planning and Policy

F5. International Relations, National Security, and International Political Economy

This paper analyses the effects of increasing Palestinian access to shared groundwater aquifers with Israel. A water focused computable general equilibrium model is applied to the economies of the West Bank and Israel and two simulations are analyzed: First, the water abstraction rate of the Palestinian side is raised to the maximal allowance according to the current interim agreement on shared water resources between the two political entities. In a second simulation, a new agreement is implemented resulting in an equiproportionate access to shared aquifers. Thereby, the implications for the two entities involved as well as for the region as a whole are quantified. It is found that the economic gains from increased water access on the Palestinian side by far outweigh the losses to the Israeli economy, as the latter is less dependent on shared groundwater resources and has more substitution possibilities, including reclamation of wastewater and seawater desalination. This is the first study on this issue taking into account the economy-wide implications of such a new agreement on the use of shared water resources between Palestine and Israel. The modelling approach presented here can be used to substantiate the political negotiation process towards a final agreement on access to shared water resources between Israel and the West Bank.
Redistributing Water Rights between the West Bank and Israel – More Than a Zero-sum Game?

Authors

Jonas Luckmann

Lecturer and Researcher, International Agricultural Trade and...

Redistributing Water Rights between the West Bank and Israel – More Than a Zero-sum Game?

Authors

Khalid Siddig

Senior Researcher, International Agricultural Trade and Development...

Redistributing Water Rights between the West Bank and Israel – More Than a Zero-sum Game?

Authors

Johanes Agbahey

Research Assistant, International Agricultural Trade and Development...

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