Israeli water technology (Youtube/Screenshot) (Youtube/Screenshot)
Israeli water technology

Water management could provide an opportunity for Israel to improve relations with Syria.

By Shula Rosen, United with Israel

The new regime in Syria faces significant challenges. Among the most urgent problems is the lack of usable water for human consumption and agriculture.

There are possible solutions to Syria’s water shortage if the country is amenable to cooperation with Israel.

Professor Eilon Adar, a hydrogeologist at Ben-Gurion University, points out that Israel and Syria share the Eastern Hermon Aquifer, which supplies springs in the north of Israel and the Jordan River. The Aquifer also feeds springs in the Damascus Basin, which supplies the nation’s capital.

Syria faces water shortages because of overly aggressive extraction, poor water management and climate change.

However, Israel’s water management and technology could be a boon to Syria.

“Both Israel and Syria have natural rights to this shared resource,” Adar explained. Israel could share its groundwater and desalination technologies as well as advanced methods for locating new untapped water supplies. Israel’s assistance would benefit both countries and create friendly relations.

Professor Arnon Karnieli, an expert in remote sensing, has studied the decline in water supply severely impacting Syria’s agriculture.

Turkey, which controls the source of the Euphrates, has built a network of dams and reservoirs, effectively cutting off Syria’s water supply. This has been ruinous to Syria’s agriculture, especially cotton, which requires a steady water supply.

“When the Syrian uprisings started in 2011, Turkey exploited the turmoil to tighten control over water flow,” Karnieli explains. “By effectively shutting off the supply, Turkey secured its own agricultural prosperity while severely damaging Syria’s.”

Karneli believes Turkey cutting off Syria’s water supply may have contributed to civil unrest.

Both Adar and Karnieli agree that water management could provide an opportunity for Israel to improve relations with Syria.

Although it’s uncertain whether Syria’s new leadership would be open to such collaboration, the potential for Israel to reach out remains considerable. As Adar points out, “This is an opportunity for Israel to share its expertise on a vital issue, possibly opening the door to a more peaceful relationship with its northern neighbor.”

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