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Political Problems Two main political problems have made a difficult situation even worse. The first is the rise of the Hamas government, followed by the boycott of the Palestinian Authority by the Israeli and U.S. governments. As a result, much of the activities that are defined in the interim agreement have been suspended, many donations to the Palestinians were denied, and projects have been stalled. Another internal political problem that Israelis see as existing since the initiation of the interim agreement is the friction among the water professionals and the central government officials and the local governments. After the rise of the Hamas, the problem became aggravated as local authorities are often from the Fatach and the government is from the Hamas. The two levels do not communicate , and budget allocations are not transferred. Significant Achievements General Evaluation All interviewees agreed that despite the mutual complaints, the agreement and its implementation have been relatively good and the agreement has fulfilled its intended purpose. It is telling that no Israeli expert interviewed wants to breach the agreement or cancel it. All sides want to preserve its main principles (a stable agreement is the best indication of a successful agreement). In addition, ensuring the water supply during the summer was mentioned as an indication of the successful work of the Joint Water Committee. Despite the potential gravity of water problems during the summer season and exacerbated scarcity, there has not been a single summer when the Palestinian Authority faced a humanitarian water crisis. The most encouraging outcome of the agreement, from the Israeli perspective, therefore, is the enhanced cooperation between the sides. Before the agreement there was no cooperation whatsoever. Naturally, the Joint Water Committee did not exist. The agreement facilitates cooperation and sets the groundwork for its implementation. Cooperation jwc Intervieweens agreed that the JWC was an important and good mechanism. Via the JWC, sides reached many understandings and projects were approved. This was the only committee that was spawned by the interim agreement that continued to operate, despite the Intifada, continuous political problems, and the Hamas victory in the Palestinian Authority elections. When political or security problems prevented physical meetings, creative solutions were adopted, such as telephone discussions and meetings in neutral places to sign the necessary protocols. The main achievement of the JWC has been its ability to work together, raising problems and finding solutions. For instance, before every summer, a joint meeting is held where the Palestinians raise problems. Israel assisted the Palestinians in the dorit kerret 58 maintenance of drillings, found creative solutions, brought water in tankers, etc. Prior to the last official meeting of the JWC all the issues that were raised by the committee were taken care of. A new list has been created, but the Hamas government was elected, and things ground to a halt. One possible explanation for the successful operation of the committee is mutual need. The Palestinians could not drill any additional wells without the authorization of the JWC, and the Israelis were duty bound to coordinate regarding their settlements. Therefore, both sides needed one another in order to conduct any kind of activity in the West Bank. In addition, the JWC was largely composed of professional staff and not politicians. The decision by the Israeli government to allow the committee to keep working was unique to the water field. In practice, the JWC has been a vehicle for updating and keeping the agreement alive after it should have been replaced by the permanent agreement. jwets Officially, five teams worked jointly till 2000. After an unfortunate incident in which a Palestinian officer shot an Israeli officer in the joint policing force, the teams were disbanded. For the next 2 years no control unit operated. In 2002 new enforcement teams of the Israeli Water Commission started operating. There is some cooperation with the Palestinians, who have teams of their own. At present, the teams no longer operate together, according to the instructions in the interim agreement. But they do cooperate in the area of information transfer. Israelis believe that the Palestinian teams feel threatened by Palestinian civilians and that this compromises their actions. However, claims have been made that even while operating quite rapidly, the cooperation between the teams has been less than successful. The Palestinians were not motivated to cooperate in the joint teams since all the enforcement resources were targeted at the Palestinians. At the same time the Palestinian JSETs’ members...

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