Water security as a factor in Arab‐Israeli wars and emerging peace

This article argues that securing water use and supply from the West Bank aquifers and from the Jordan River and its tributaries contributed to Israel's decision to occupy the West Bank and the Golan Heights during the 1967 June War, and the security zone in south Lebanon during the 1978 invasion of Lebanon. There is overwhelming support for this argument, despite the varying levels of attribution with respect to its causality. In light of the increasingly intense competition for water resources in the Middle East, being clear about the historical contributors to these wars may help in speeding the successful completion of the negotiations over the Golan Heights, south Lebanon, and the Palestinian Occupied Territories.