Climate Change and the Vulnerable Occupied Palestinian Territories.

• Author: Freij, Lena

Table of Contents Introduction I. The Occupation II. Climate Impacts in Palestine A. Aquifers and Water Quality B. Agriculture C. Exacerbation of Political Conflict III. Existing Authorities IV. Current Climate Change Planning A. Efforts by Palestine B. Efforts by the International Community V. Palestine's Restricted Adaptive Capacity A. Israel's Discriminatory Practices B. Monetary Constraints and Need for Additional International Support VI. Looking Toward the Future A. Government of Israel B. Palestinian Authority C. Global Community Conclusion Introduction

One day, Mohammad al-Sayis, a five-year-old Palestinian boy, accompanied his siblings and father to go to the beach to swim and cool down. The Middle Eastern summer of 2017 was hot; water was scarce and polluted; and Gaza was experiencing an ongoing electricity crisis. (1) The Mediterranean Sea was the only way for most of Gaza's two million inhabitants to cool down. Mohammad's father, Ahmed, explained, "[i]t's hot and humid and there is no power.... The sea is our only outlet." (2) The following morning, when Ahmed went to wake Mohammad, he found him unconscious in his bed. (3) Mohammad was rushed to the hospital, along with his siblings, who were also ill. (4) Upon arrival at the hospital, Mohammad's situation continued to deteriorate. (5) Doctors explained to Ahmed that Mohammad's symptoms were due to Ekiri Syndrome. This syndrome is a rare and lethal disease to children, and is caused by Shigella bacteria, which is commonly transmitted through the ingestion of fecal material. (6) After attempting and failing to obtain a permit to get treatment abroad, Mohammad passed away from what doctors deemed to be "the first death caused by sea pollution." (7)

The right to water and sanitation is a fundamental human right enshrined in international conventions. (8) However, due to Gaza's rapidly expanding population, damaged infrastructure from wars with Israel, and an electricity shortage to run Gaza's few functioning wastewater treatment plants, millions of gallons of raw sewage pour into Gaza Strip's beach every day. (9) Adequate sanitation systems and access to clean water are necessary for survival, and their need will only grow more vital as resources become more scarce and weather patterns shift due to climate change. Thus, the time to act is now.

Climate change is one of the greatest threats facing humanity and ecosystems, and its effects are expected to be expansive, devastating, and highly disproportionate in distribution across the globe. There is extensive climate-related research that addresses the dynamics of violent conflicts; (10) however, less attention is focused on the extent to which populations under prolonged military occupation are able to adapt to climate change in their current condition.

This Comment first outlines the history of Israel's occupation of Palestine as a foundational context to the Palestinian experience of climate change. It then discusses climate impacts to the OPT, including to aquifers and water quality, agriculture, and the existing political conflict. (11) This Comment analyzes the specific needs for action that will be required by the OPT to adapt to climate impacts, and discusses the authorities and constraints that the OPT faces in prevention and adaptation. This Comment then outlines what Palestine has been and is currently doing to address climate change. Lastly, this Comment provides an assessment of likely paths forward, including options to consider when facing the impacts of climate change in the OPT.

1. The Occupation

   The relationship between Israelis and Palestinians is often presented as a conflict between two equal entities with irreconcilable views over a piece of land or access to a resource. In reality, however, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is between a nationstate, Israel, possessing one of the world's most well-funded militaries, (12) and the indigenous population of Palestinians that has been occupied and displaced for decades. (13)

   Following the Nakba (14) from 1947 to 1949, (15) a period during which 750,000 indigenous Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes by Israeli forces, (16) Israel comprised 78 percent of historic Palestinian land. After the 1967 War, Israel occupied the remaining 22 percent of the land, and Zionist (17) forces began colonizing the regions shortly thereafter. Today, the OPT refers to the lands captured by Israel during the 1967 War that remain under Israeli military control. These lands include the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. (18)

   Since the beginning of the Israeli occupation, Israel has imposed "a series of laws and practices targeting land and water resources." (19) Water resources were confiscated for the benefit of Israeli settlements in the Jordan River Valley. (20) Additionally, after the 1967 War, Palestinian irrigation pumps on the Jordan River were destroyed or confiscated, and Palestinians were prohibited from further developing their water resources. (21) Palestinians were also prohibited from using water from the Jordan River System. (22) In other areas, Israeli authorities introduced quotas and caps on existing irrigation wells that restricted the quantity of water pumped from wells. (23) Furthermore, while Israeli authorities did not allow any new irrigation wells to be drilled by Palestinian farmers, they "provided fresh water and allowed drilling wells for irrigation purposes at the Jewish settlements" in the OPT. (24)

   Israel's occupation of Palestine continues today. Israel retains control over the borders and airspace of the territory, restricting what is allowed in and out, and periodically engages militarily in the territory. (25) Israel retains "exclusive control over all of the water resources on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea," with one exception: a small section of the Coastal Aquifer that runs under the Gaza Strip. (26) As of November 27, 2020, 768 Palestinian structures have been demolished, 932 Palestinians have been displaced, and the average Palestinian in Gaza only had access to 14 hours of electricity per day in 2020. (27) For these reasons, the Israeli Occupation is understood by Palestinians to be a system of military rule under which Palestinians are denied civil, political, environmental, and economic rights and are subjected to systematic discrimination. (28)

2. Climate Impacts in Palestine

   Of the communities directly impacted by climate change, indigenous peoples (29) are among the first to experience climate change consequences, especially those who live under military occupation. Indigenous peoples have a "dependence upon, and close relationship with the environment and its resources," making them extremely vulnerable to climate-induced impacts. (30) In addition, indigenous communities are the least prepared and least capable of protecting themselves from climate change. (31) This vulnerability exists because climate change exacerbates the difficulties indigenous peoples already face, including "political and economic marginalization, loss of land and resources, human rights violations, discrimination, and unemployment." (32) Thus, while climate change will affect the entire global community, it will continue to have a disparately heavy impact on indigenous communities that are subject to imperial and colonial powers, (33) such as Palestinians in the OPT.

   1. Aquifers and Water Quality

      The OPT has a Mediterranean climate and is located on the edge of a mid-latitude temperate climate to its north and arid climate to the south, making it extremely vulnerable to precipitation variations. (34) The OPT's climate is characterized by long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters, modified locally by latitude and altitude. (35) These fluctuations put Palestine in a "very sensitive climatic position." (36)

      According to a study that measured climate impacts in the eastern Mediterranean, the length of summer is predicted to increase by 25 percent in the mid-twenty first century and by 49 percent by the end of the century. (37) The opposite holds true for the winter season, which is predicted to shorten by 56 percent by the end of the century. (38) As one scholar explained, "[t]he lengthening of the summer season together with the shortening of the winter season may lead to substantial environmental changes, including deficit in the water resources and the hydrological regime, increased risks for agriculture, fires and air pollution, as well as health risks." (39) While projections for changes in temperature vary, overall temperatures are projected to increase by approximately 3.6[degrees]F by 2055 and 5.4[degrees]F by 2090. (40)

      Approximately three fourths of Israel and Palestine's water supply comes from the Mountain Aquifer, the Jordan River Basin, and the Coastal Aquifer. (41) The Jordan River Basin, which includes parts of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, provides water to Israel and Palestine primarily from the Sea of Galilee and Lower Jordan River. (42) In many areas, though particularly in the Coastal Aquifer in the Gaza Strip, water withdrawal substantially exceeds renewable water resources. (43) As one scholar put it, "[c]ontinued withdrawal of these quantities will be hydrologically impossible." (44)

      With hotter temperatures, longer dry seasons, and less rainfall, the OPT can expect an increase in the risks of prolonged, severe droughts. (45) Higher temperatures also increase the demand for water and increase the amount of water discharged from aquifers, but precipitation reductions will result in lower groundwater recharge and a continued decrease in available groundwater. (46) These risks appear to have already increased. A NASA study published in 2016 found that "the recent drought that began in 1998 in the eastern Mediterranean Levant region, which comprises Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey, is likely the worst drought of the...