Israel tightens its operations in southern Lebanon and releases Lebanese prisoners amid a national water crisis

Israel took a tough stance on the ground in southern Lebanon, and took the negotiating initiative by announcing the release of 5 Lebanese civilian prisoners, in a move that would pave the way for setting a date for a new round of Lebanese-Israeli negotiations and the return of Beirut to the negotiating table in Rome. The release process began with the handover of the young man, Malik Kamal Ghazi (20 years old), yesterday (Thursday), and will be completed today (Friday), at a time when American-Israeli contacts continue in preparation for the next round, amid efforts to keep the negotiating track in place.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed that “the return of any liberated Lebanese to his homeland constitutes an important step to address this issue,” while ministerial sources said that the release of the prisoners came as a result of American pressure, especially the urge to present a positive step before the date of the negotiations.

In parallel, the Israeli army announced once again that it had achieved “operational control” over the “Ali al-Tahir” heights, above and below the ground. He said that his forces cleared the area of ​​Hezbollah members, some of whom were killed, while others fled.

Army spokeswoman Ella Wawiyah said that the forces of the 36th Division “recently worked to clear two underground tracks in Ali Al-Taher Heights, located within the security zone.”

Israel has entered into a worsening water crisis, as a result of pollution. This crisis emerged two weeks ago, when it was revealed that the southern city of Ashkelon (Ashkelon) and its region are drinking water polluted from the Gaza Strip’s sewers, as a result of the destruction of infrastructure.

The Israeli army's bombing of streets, vital facilities and infrastructure in Gaza created chaos that caused sewage to flow uncontrollably from the Strip towards the Mediterranean Sea, and from there the waves transported it northwards, leaking into Israeli desalination plants.

But Israeli investigations showed, a few days ago, that Ashkelon is not the only one drinking polluted water, but that half of Israel's population has been exposed to the same thing.

According to local Israeli reports, the exceptional marine pollution led to an almost complete disruption of the water desalination system in Israel, after a sharp increase in the turbidity of the sea water. Five water desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast stopped working. Ashdod, Shork A, Shork Bulmahim, and Ashkelon, while the desalination plants in Hadera, the Western Galilee, and Eilat continued to operate normally, according to the data received.

The cessation of most desalination facilities led to a shortage of desalinated water, which 88 percent of the population of Israel drinks, which caused disturbances in water supplies in various regions of the country, and a severe scarcity of irrigation water.

It turns out that about half of the population in Israel who rely on desalination in the southern plants suffer from pollution, and the matter may have reached sites in the West Bank and Jordan that drink desalinated water from Israel.

The southern municipalities of Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ashdod and others announced disruptions in the water supply and a drop in water pressure in a number of neighborhoods, and the authorities called on residents to deal with the situation in accordance with the instructions issued by the competent authorities, at a time when the responsible authorities are working to ensure the continuity of water supply to homes.

Significant implications in agriculture

Under the Emergency Water Management Directive, local authorities have begun to significantly reduce irrigation of public green spaces and municipal water uses. The major repercussions are concentrated in the agricultural sector. For the first time in years, farmers across the country received notification of a comprehensive reduction in water quotas or a complete cessation of supplies. It is expected that reducing the water allocated for agriculture will cause significant damage to crops if the crisis continues for a long time.

The Water Authority confirmed that the main priority at this stage is to ensure water supply to homes, explaining that local problems that may appear in different areas will be subject to rapid treatment with the aim of restoring supplies to regularity.

Following the demand for his dismissal, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Eli Cohen, who is responsible for the Water Authority and all energy affairs, said that what is happening is “a natural phenomenon, the likes of which we have not witnessed during the past twenty years.” He added that the authorities are working to increase the frequency of pumping water from wells and from the Sea of ​​Galilee, and two additional desalination plants were approved to operate under close supervision.

Cohen explained that “the first priority is to provide water to the population,” noting that the relevant authorities are studying solutions that would allow water supplies to be restored to farmers as soon as possible.

In parallel with efforts to address the crisis, the “Adam Teva and Din” organization warned that the current situation reveals, in its opinion, strategic failures in planning for the management of water resources. Experts at the organization said that the policy that relies almost exclusively on seawater desalination is “dangerous and wrong.” Because it does not take into account potential risks, including seawater pollution and failure of desalination facilities.

The organization added that “the flexibility of the water system in Israel is its security,” stressing that it is not possible to rely on a single source of water. She criticized what she described as neglect of natural emergency reserves, noting the closure of drinking water wells due to pollution without rehabilitating them.

The media had placed this issue at the top of its attention throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, and several experts revealed that there was traditional Israeli arrogance that led to this crisis. Since Israel began seawater desalination projects, it has been suffering from the phenomenon of algal influx from the Nile waters in Egypt, and therefore it should not fail to treat sewage from Gaza.