This article comes from the WeChat public account:Earth Knowledge Bureau (ID: diqiuzhishiju), author: Sven seniors Fan, the subject map from: IC photo
Water resources are the foundation on which human civilization survives and develops. In a society where water scarcity is relatively low, its members can easily view the acquisition and use of water resources as a matter of course.But in water sources In scarce areas, where conflicts among local ethnic groups are acute, water can become a source of conflict.
Family has been counting on this bucket of water for a few years
(Photo: akramalrasny / Shutterstock)▼
The Middle East as a whole is dry and rainy, and the vicinity of the river has become the most suitable area for human habitation. These valleys are not only the birthplace of civilization, but also the focus of water resources competition.
If there are no such rivers
It’s really not suitable for human survival
(Photo: shutterstock@Anton Balazh)▼
Among the four major rivers in the Middle East, the Jordan River is undoubtedly the most in short of water resources, and the surrounding countries, nations, and religions are the most complicated. For the Palestine and Israel that live along the river, The use of the Jordan River has also become the second issue other than the issue of Jerusalem’s ownership.
The Jordan River is the smallest of the four rivers
but it is the most complicated and the most fierce one
(Photo: shutterstock@Darrell J. Rohl )▼
How did all this develop to today?
Water lifeline in the Western Middle East
The Jordan River is located in western Asia, near the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea,The basin is dominated by the Mediterranean climate and subtropical desert climate. The annual precipitation of different parts of this big river varies greatly, and it decreases from north to south as a whole.
The Jordan River’s watershed is not large. The river comes from the north and the highlands on both sides of the east and west, and flows southwards into the Dead Sea. Then there is no… .
But this is already the mother river of the population on both sides of the strait
(Photo: shutterstock@AridOcean)▼
The season also has a great impact on precipitation. In summer, the basin is hot, dry, and evaporates with a large amount of precipitation, and there is little precipitation, forming a dry season; in winter, the monsoon belt moves south, and the humid northwest wind blows from the Mediterranean Sea to bring rainfall to the upstream. The rainfall in the basin can reach 600 mm, which is Typical Mediterranean climate. But even in winter, the annual precipitation from the southern part of the basin to the northern end of the Dead Sea is less than 50 millimeters, and overall there is less precipitation.
Precipitation is basically concentrated in the northern mountains
The south is actually a transition zone from precipitation to desert
(Photo: shutterstock )▼
The main water resources in the basin are: the tributaries of the Jordan River, such as the Yarmouk River and the Zarka River. The groundwater in the basin is the best. Due to the consumption of water in the Jordan River by human activities and the huge evaporation caused by the desert climate, the salt content in the lower reaches of the Jordan River gradually increased, and the water quality gradually deteriorated, eventually sinking into the Dead Sea, the saltwater lake with the highest salt content in the world.
This is the final destination of the Jordan River
And as people intercept the Jordan River water more and more
In the face of huge evaporation, the Dead Sea is also shrinking
(Photo: shutterstock@lavizzara )▼
Overall, compared to the Nile and Euphrates-Tigris water systems, the Jordan River, the third largest river in the Middle East, is actually an inland river with insufficient water resources.
Of course, such hydrological conditions were sufficient in ancient times when the population density was not high. At that time, the desertification of the Crescent Fertile Land was not serious. The ancient civilization nurtured by the Jordan River also created monotheism represented by Judaism and Christianity. These religions also recorded the Jordan River in their respective religious classics, making them carry more Cultural significance.
The Jordan River and the Dead Sea in ancient mosaics
(Photo: shutterstock@WitR)▼
In the future, Jews, Phoenicians, Romans, and ancient Arabs left the ancient castle ruins of Mezada, Umlaisas, Petra, etc. in this basin, and also witnessed the civilization of the Jordan River Basin Rise and fall.
As long as Petra is built, the desert yields 18,000 acres
(Photo: shutterstock@vvoe)▼
With climate change and human consumption of water resources, the flow of the Jordan River and its surrounding rivers has reduced to what it is today’s seasonal rivers. It is a tributary in arid regions such as Petra Bu Ganhe has dried up. So for the surrounding countries that are dry and rainy, the power to draw water from the basin has been downgraded from the right to development to the right to survival, but it has intensified the conflicts caused by the Jordan’s water resources.
Actually, it is good to have a mu yield, so don’t be extravagant.
(Photo: shutterstock@Maurizio De Mattei)▼
Returners or intruders
Now the protagonist of the dispute is a group of latecomers.
In the early 20th century, Zionism arose, and some Jews living in Europe moved to Palestine. With the release of the Belfort Declaration by the United Kingdom after World War I to support the establishment of a Jewish state and control of Palestinian areas, a wave of Jewish migration to Palestine gradually took shape. In the future Hitler came to power and the international order was reshaped after World War II.
Survivors of Buchenwald Concentration Camp arrive in Haifa
(Photo: wikipedia)▼
For Jews, this is the hometown recorded in the classics, and they can consider themselves as returnees. But for locals, Jews are intruders, so violent conflicts sometimesoccur. Finally, the United Nations passed the 1947 Palestine partition agreement, and Israel formally established the country. It also established a foothold in its new home by winning the first Middle East war.
Israel has a firm foothold and has become one of the most important political forces in the Middle East
This is a pagan invasion in the eyes of the Arabs, and a blue light in the eyes of the Israelis
(Photo: wikipedia@Micha Perry)▼
At this time, using the classics to further promote the cultural legitimacy of the new country has become Israel’s top priority.
The description of the tributaries of the Jordan River is scattered throughout the Hebrew Bible. Legend has it that the twelve tribes of Israel lived along the Jordan Valley, two and a half of them even lived on the east bank of the Jordan River. The Jordan River Basin constitutes a happy land in the Hebrew Bible, and its cultural significance is more than that of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in China. By all accounts, the right-wing Jews’ desire for control of the Jordan River is particularly evident.
Thousands of years of pain and tears have been constantly remembered and shaped
It can be seen that this nation has a very strong ability to maintain its “existence”
This is also the source of the disproportionate power of the Jews
(picture: shutamota (Shutterstock)▼
Of course, the sharper contradiction is still a question of Palestinian survival.
The living water sources in the Palestinian settlements of Gaza and the West Bank mainly come from groundwater. The groundwater in the West Bank penetrates into the ground by winter precipitation from the Mediterranean climate, forming an average annual 600 million m³ aquifer across the Green Line. For both Palestine and Israel, this is an important source of clean water.
An old well in a Palestinian mosque
I don’t know if I can hit the water
(Photo: Andrealolliweb / Shutterstock)▼
Israel takes advantage of its actual advantages and advanced technology to make large-scale use of the groundwater in this aquifer, accounting for one-third of its water supply and half of its drinking water, and nationalizing the water source, restricting the opening of new wells. The original 140 water pipes of the Arabs in the West Bank were also cut off, resulting in the Arabs being permitted to use only 5% of the total before 1967.
The humanitarian crisis is too deep, and the Israelis are also guilty.More than ten wells have eased the lack of water, but the gap is still huge.
Repair the wall above the ground and pump water below the ground
(Photo: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock)▼
The Palestinians think that the Jews have drained their water resources and have great grievances, hoping to obtain 500 million m³ of groundwater in the West Bank, which is obviously unrealistic, especially when they tend to be completely disadvantaged, the Israelis have actually occupied, and In the case of a large number of immigrants there.
When the issue of water resource allocation becomes a political issue, the negotiations become the Rashomon who choose their own favorable standards. The Palestinians believe that they should possess the water rights of all the water resources in the theoretical territory, and Israel regards it as a hydrological and technical problem, and avoids the politicization of this problem based on the status quo, history and actual possession. , And strive to maintain the status quo.
In the face of this situation, the United Nations cannot make an effective referee. The United States has also conducted mediation as a third party on many occasions, but it is also difficult to dominate negotiations fairly and fairly. All attempts failed.
United States, an impartial third party
(Photo: Photographer RM / Shutterstock)▼
As the Jordan River Basin is gradually being developed industrially, the current problems in the basin are far more than just water conflicts. The two major tributaries of the Jordan River have serious flow reduction and pollution problems. Among them, the upper reaches of the Yamuk River are very polluted, and the Zaka River directly passes through the densely populated areas of Jordan to face the direct discharge of chemical plants. The Arab world’s low water resources Management capabilities have exacerbated Israel’s mistrust of upstream countries.
In an era of continued chaos in the Arab countries and the world against globalization, this issue is more difficult to negotiate to the satisfaction of all parties, not to mention transnational water resources management and protection. But time is not waiting for people. Population growth, over-exploitation, and climate change make the water resources in the Jordan River Basin more tense. I am afraid that the relations between the countries in the basin will also become more tense.
References:
1. Han Ye International River regulates the allocation of water resources under competition Social Science Literature Press
2. Cao Hua Liu Shiying Analysis of the dispute between Arab and Israeli water resources
3. Chen Yang Research on Water Resources Cooperation in the Middle East after the War——Based on the Perspective of Neoliberal Cooperation Theory
This article comes from the WeChat public account:Earth Knowledge Bureau (ID: diqiuzhishiju), author: Sven Fan seniors