Quartet Representative Tony Blair asked FoEME for a synopsis of the Palestinian water issues in the Jordan Valley as a runner-up to a tour of the area.
FoEME's Israeli and Palestinian Directors presented the general water situation in the Valley and used our GWN community of Auja as a case study, depicting the unequal allocation of water between Israeli settlements and Palestinian towns. Mr. Blair thanked FoEME staff for the information on the water issues and agreed to participate in a FoEME-led tour of the Lower Jordan River in the near future. He continues to seek and promote economic opportunities for the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza.
A U.S. Congressional Delegation, led by Senator Robert Casey, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, invited FoEME’s Palestinian Director, Mr. Nader Khateeb to lead a fact finding tour about water and environmental issues in the West Bank this month.
Throughout the tour the visiting Congressional Delegation learned about the solid waste and waste water management challenges in the West Bank as well as FoEME's efforts to protect the area's shared ground water resources in partnership with area municipalities involved in the Good Water Neighbors program. FoEME asked for support in improving wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure for Palestinian communities. The visiting Senators were also updated about the critical state of the Jordan River and asked to support a Congressional Hearing on the State of the Jordan River to raise awareness about the lack of coordinated management of this important river.
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Municipal representatives and residents of the Good Water Neighbors Israeli and Palestinian Mountain Aquifer communities, joined together for a 2-day gathering in the Eshkol Regional Council on May 7-8. A panel of experts introduced the current problematic reality of the Hebron / Besor / Gaza watershed, where joint mismanagement has led to the ecological degradation of the stream, health hazards and loss of income from potential tourism development. Following the presentation, each pair of communities discussed next steps for future joint projects. The following day, the group participated in a tour of the Eshkol Regional Council's (Besor) Neighbor’s Path
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An exceptional request came from the mayor of the Jordan Valley Regional Council to FoEME, to assist in organizing an official municipal visit to their neighboring Jordanian community. The group of 40 department directors, led by the mayor, Mr. Yossi Vardi, was hosted by the mayor of their partnering GWN community, Muaz Bin Jabal on May 20-21, where they toured the Muaz Bin Jabal Neighbor's Path and FoEME’s new Good Water Neighbors community, Al Hemma’s Neighbors Path, as well as other cultural heritage sites in the area.
This opportunity gave the visiting Israeli municipality a chance to meet their Jordanian neighbors and to visit the Jordanian side of the proposed crossborder Jordan River Peace Park which would include areas for both Mayor's municipalities. Feedback sent to FoEME after the visit was overwhelmingly warm and enthusiastic.
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To further cross-border visits of one community’s Neighbors Path to another, this month a group of 25 women from the Bethlehem and Wadi Fukin area visited the Baka el Gharbia Neighbor’s Path in Israel. After studying sewage treatment issues in their own local area, they learned about the waste water treatment plant being built in Baka Gharbia and the FoEME led efforts to connect the neighboring Palestinian village of Baka el Sharkia to the system.
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The King's Academy in Jordan celebrated Earth Day on May 19 with the 3 Directors of Friends of the Earth Middle East who spoke at an all-school assembly about water and peace in the Middle East. The lively discussion served to build enthusiasm in the student body about water issues in Jordan and the region. Click here to read the article in the King's Academy newsletter about the visit.
Researchers from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, USA returned to the region for a second year of sampling along the Jordan River as part of an in-depth study of the northern reach of the Lower Jordan River conducted in partnership with FoEME.
In addition, a regional meeting of FoEME's trans-boundary diagnosis analysis study team was held. The team of economists from Jordan, Israel and Palestine are currently reviewing existing and possible opportunities to transfer fresh water resources to the Jordan River from their respective national water economies. The results of both studies will greatly contribute to formulating an action plan for the rehabilitation of the Jordan River as part of the Jordan River Rehabilitation Project.
Visit our Jordan River press coverage page for recent articles from Green Prophet, Voice of America, Observador Global and SKY News.
The Jordan River Rehabilitation Project is supported by USAID, the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Green Environment Fund and the Global Nature Fund / Ursula Merz Foundation.
