Jerusalem – "I am happy. I dreamed of this agreement for many years, also to save the Dead Sea, which is really dying". This is what Father Raed Abusahliah, Director General of Caritas Jerusalem, says to Fides Agency, commenting the signing of the trilateral agreement signed in Washington on December 9 between representatives of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority and aimed at improving the distribution of water resources in the area, putting a stop to the drying up of the Dead Sea. According to Fr Raed, "if the Palestinians really benefit from the use of larger amounts of water, this will have a positive impact on their lives, especially since the Palestinian Territories suffer from water shortage.
In addition – the Palestinian priest adds – the agreement implicitly recognizes the sovereignty of the Palestinian Authority – involved as a partner – on the lands of the northern part of the Dead Sea, which are part of the Palestinian Territories. I hope that after this Agreement, shared solutions are found related to other problems that affect us all".
The trilateral agreement on water comes after eleven years of negotiations. This involves the creation of a pumping system in the Gulf of Aqaba, in order to channel nearly 200 million cubic meters of water per year in areas that suffer most from the lack of water resources. A part of the water will be drained into the Dead Sea, that without this intervention is likely to dry up by 2050.
The agreement was signed at the World Bank headquarters, which is a partner of the project. "We demonstrated that we can work together in spite of our political problems", said Palestinian Minister Shaddad Attili at the signing of the Agreement.
By: Agenzia Fides
