 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
149
In addition to the formal peace talks now under way, there is an informal track of separate independent,
unofficial discussions. These are often academic meetings, workshops, and conferences. Among the recent
40
meetings have been an Israeli-Palestinian conference in Zurich in December 1992; an academic workshop
on the multilaterals held at the University of California at Los Angeles in April 1993, which included
dellegates from Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinians; a meeting in Champagne/Urbana, Illinois, sponsored by
45
the International Water Resources Association in October 1993; and a Pugwash Conference on Middle
East issues held outside of Stockholm in December 1993.
These meetings provide an unofficial forum for broaching ideas and exchanging information, and they
50
are considered extremly fruitful both for the ideas that are raised and for the relationships that are formed.
Several of the ideas that have made their way into the recent formal agreements between Israel and the
Palestinians and Israel and Jordan orignated at these unofficial meetings. These ideas include the goal
55
ofequetable utilization, the supply of minimum water requirements to existing inhabitants, and the need to
examine certain new supply options.
box 2. CONFLICTS OVER WATER IN THE MYTHS, LEGENDS, AND ANCIENT HISTORY OF
THE MIDDLE EAST
by Haleh Hatami and Peter H. Gleick
The history of water-related disputes in the Middle East goes back to antiquity and is described in the
many myths, legends, and historical accounts that have survived from earlier times. These disputes range
5 from conflicts
over access to adequate water supplies to intentional attacks on water delivery systems
during wars. A chronology of such water-related conflicts in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys during
the last 5,000 years appears on the facing page.
10
One of the earliest examples of the use of water as a weapon is the ancient Sumerian myth — which
parallels the Biblical account of Noah and the deluge-recounting the deeds of the diety Ea, who punishes
humanity's sins by inflicting the. Earth with a great flood. According to the Sumerians, the pa
15
triarch Utu speaks with Ea, who warns him of the impending flood and orders him to build a large vessel
filled with «all the seeds of life».
A dispute between the city-states of Umma and Lagash over the fertile soils of Mesopotamia between
20
the modern-day Tigris and Euphrates Rivers continued from 2500 to 2400 B.C. and included conflicts over
irrigation systems and the intentional diversion of water supplies. Continuing disputes over water in the
region later led Hammurabi of Babylon (around 11790 B.C.) to include several laws in the famous «Code
25
of Hammurabi» pertaining to the negligence of irrigation systems and to water theft.
Many Biblical accounts include descriptions of the use of water as an instrument of conflict, including
the banishment of Hagar and Ishmael to the wilderness with only a limited amount of water and their
30
divine salvation when God leads them to a well (Genesis 21:1-23). According to Islam, Ishmael's offspring
Constitute the nation of Islam; a similar Quranic verse parallels this Biblical account. The well, called Zum
Zum, is thought to be located at Mecca. Exodus recounts the miracle of Moses parting the Red Sea or,
35
alternatively, damming a tributary of the Nile to prevent the Egyptians from reaching the Jews as they
journeyed through the Sinai. In Chronicles 32:3, Hezekiah jdigs a well outside the walls of Jerusalem and
uses a conduit to bring in water to prepare for a siege by Sennacherib. By cutting off water supplies outside
40
of the city walls, Jerusalem survives the attack.
Other historical accounts offer fascinating insights into the role of water in war and politics. Sargon II,
the Assyrian king from 720 to 705 B.C., destroyed the intricate irrigation network of the Haldians after his
45 successful campaign through
Armenia. Sennacherib of Assyria devastated Babylon in 689 . . as
retribution for the death of his son and intentionally destroyed the water supply canals to the city.
Assurbanipal, King of Assyria from 669 to 626 ., seized water wells as part of his strategy of desert
50
warfare against Arabia. According to inscriptions recorded during the reign of Esarhaddon (681-669 B.C.),
the Assyrians besieged the city of Tyre, cutting off food and water. In another account, in 612
B.C., a
coalition ofi Egyptian, Median (Persian), and Babylonian forces attacked and destroyed Ninevah, the
55
capital of Assyria, by diverting the Khosr River to create a flood.
Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 B.C.) built immense walls around Babylon and used the Euphrates River and
a series of canals as defensive moats surrounding the inner castle. Describing Nebuchadnezzar's plan to
60 create an impregnable city, the ancient historian Berossus states, «He arranged it so that be siegers would no