Only top-level intervention from the government managed to break up the settler blockade. But the report is also critical of the PA, stating that the Palestinian Water Commission does not cooperate with other Palestinian government agencies and does not provide the public information about its activities. If there is an increase in water use, notes the report, sewage will increase as well. There is no monitoring of the amount of sewage in the West Bank, and it is therefore not clear how bad the situation has become. The report does note, however, that in at least one of the Herodion pumping stations, bacteria was found in the water.
Israeli sources reject the report's assessment of the potential for water in the eastern aquifer.
They say that joint studies by Israeli and Palestinian hydrologists showed that the 78 million cubic meters do exist. And of course drilling should be monitored to track the state of the aquifer. But some Israeli experts agree with the Palestinian hydrologists' report. As for the sewage problem, the Israeli sources say that there are preliminary plans for sewage treatment, to ensure that sewage will not turn into a major pollutant either in Israel or the PA territories. But the plans are costly, and it will be a long time before they are implemented.