Israel appeared to be backing off on Saturday from a threatened "water war" with Lebanon as desperation over how to overcome a three-year drought drew the two sides into a new area of conflict, according to Electronic Telegraph on Sunday.
The prospect of a "water war" between Israel and its northern Arab neighbor arose over a Lebanese project to pump water to a small village from the Hasbani river which flows into Lake Tiberius, Israel's biggest fresh water reservoir. The lake is at its lowest level ever because of the drought. Israel's first reaction when the construction of a pumping station along the Hasbani was discovered was to send sharp messages to Lebanon and Syria saying that Israel could not ignore the Lebanese action.
As the verbal exchanges grew more heated, Lt Gen Shaul Mofaz, the army's chief of staff, told Israel army radio: "I don't think we should indulge in fiery rhetoric and should certainly not be talking about war. We have no intentions of that kind. At the moment the matter is in the process of clarification . . . If it does not turn out well we will have to assess the situation and judge again what to do." Avigdor Lieberman, the ultra-nationalist infrastructure minister, had issued a warning earlier in the week that "because of water, wars break out.”
A day later, he toned down his remarks, said the Telegraph, commenting: "The last thing we need is a war or an outbreak of violence on the northern border." Uri Saguy, head of the national water company Merokot and a former military intelligence chief, told the Haaretz newspaper that because of the scarcity of water in the region, Lebanon's move could lead to a "unilateral reaction." He said: "There is no water in the Middle East. Therefore, understandings must be reached. If not, it can turn into a war or forceful confrontation."
At a meeting of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's directorate on Thursday, voices were raised saying that the incident was blown out of proportion, and that it is not clear that the work being done on the river either harms Israel's water needs or is an attempt to divert the river.
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said in New York that in principle Israel cannot tolerate a situation where water is being diverted from it, but that it is not clear that this is the situation on the river, and that the situation is being monitored.
Israel has not lodged a formal complaint on the matter with the UN, said The Jerusalem Post
Meanwhile, a United Nations spokesman denied Thursday Israeli accusations that Lebanon was diverting a key river, the Wazzani, to stop it flowing into Israel, said reports.
“The workers are building a four-inch pipe to carry water from the Wazzani river to a poor village lacking water. You don’t divert a river with a pipe so small,” Timour Goksel, spokesman for the UN Interim Forces in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), was quoted as saying – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
