The other countries must not be concerned. God gives this water to us and we will not take all of it. Whether scarce or contaminated, misused or hoarded, water is a fundamental source of conflict and the lifeline of the Middle East, a knot of dry nations forced to share the few meager rivers and aquifers that ignore national borders. At the start of this century, though, it is clear there is not enough to go around. You cannot continue business as usual, said Jamal Saghir, a World Bank water expert for the Middle East and North Africa, which have the smallest amount of water available per person in the world.
Water is a top priority of every single government.
Conditions are dire all over the region, but if there is a ground zero, it is likely the Jordan River basin, a densely populated land clinging to a drying river between the Mediterranean and the Jordanian desert. The basin begins in southern Lebanon, with tributaries rushing into northern Israel and the legendary Jordan River. At first the Jordan flows fast in whirlpools and waterfalls, even attracting whitewater rafters. But after the roughly 150-mile river winds south through the Sea of Galilee and then through the maze of pipes to thirsty Jordanians, Palestinians and Israelis, it ends up at the Dead Sea little more than a scattering of moist salt. The pain has already begun.