More often than not, Israel is accused of stealing from Palestinian “aquifers” or actively limiting Palestinian access to clean water. This is, of course, not true.

Historically, Israel has used water from the Sea of Galilee and relied on various different aquifers in the country. Even in the 1950s, when Israel was a young state, the overwhelming majority of its water came from the Northeastern and Western aquifers. Israel also pipes roughly 40 million cubic meters of water for Palestinian use in the West Bank, a far cry from the baseless allegation of water theft. In Gaza, even during war, Israel has worked to get clean water to Gazans. The real threat to Gaza’s water supply comes from Hamas, which has damaged critical infrastructure and mismanaged the coastal aquifer, leading to its depletion and contamination.

Thanks to the development of water recycling technology, Israel is able to recycle over 80% of its water to use in agriculture. While Israel has continued to make advancements in water technology, the Jewish state also shares its water with neighbors like Jordan and the Palestinians, annually receiving tens of millions of cubic meters of water.