Israel's water policy takes into consideration the need to share our limited existing water resources with our neighbors. Currently, we are supplying water to the Jordanians and the Palestinians as well. Unfortunately, since the 1960's the current potential of fresh water is being exploited to its utmost. The region's water supply depends on fluctuations in rainfall, which is in short supply. The countries in the region also suffer from lack of storage capacity, to regulate the water supply and to bridge over drought and dry cycles.
Similar conditions exist in other countries in the region.
Despite the need to fight the encroachment of the desert on this small and narrow country and meet the rapid growth of its population, Israel has not increased its water consumption. Our water demands projection is based on the assumption that per-capita water consumption by our Palestinian and Jordanian neighbors will equal ours, at a certain point in time after the year 2000. The predicted time of this crisis is 2010. The time needed for planning and construction of a desalination project is not less than 5 years. The cost is beyond the purchase capability, of both the Palestinians and Jordan, who also suffer from severe water scarcity.