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Beginning shortly after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, this project faced significant challenges: mistakes were made and the project had to be flexible enough to adapt to the constantly changing circumstances. Developing community involvement and trust was a slow process, with some participants being intimidated for taking part in activities and with a sense of outrage at the violence perpetrated on both sides of the conflict being a significant barrier. For this reason, the regional cooperation aspect of the project was initially kept at a low profile, with a focus on real investing in physical improvements in the communities and hiring locally respected workers. As trust developed over time, regional meetings became not only possible but “desirable,” with the “other side” becoming a point of intrigue rather than a source for suspicion. A powerful example of how these grassroots connections have developed through the Good Water Neighbors project, beyond simply the water connection, is the story of the West Bank village of Wadi Fuqin. Here, the villagers, with the vocal support of the FOEME and the neighboring Jewish community of Tsur Hadassah, have taken legal action to prevent the Separation Wall from being built beyond the Green Line, which would have affected the recharge area of the streams that flow into the village and cut villagers off from their olive trees. The court did not contest the petition and the wall has subsequently not been built there. These two communities are now developing a joint “development plan” for the area which includes environmental, economic, and social considerations as well as a sustainable tourism initiative. Meanwhile, joint initiatives in Emek Hefer and Tulkarem, between the Jordan River Valley mayors, and between Baka al Gharbia and Baka al Sharkia have yielded direct funding for cooperative projects, generating real solutions to ease the water and sewage problems of all residents. In future years, funding is being made available by USAID and the European Union for more grassroots work based on this model of incorporating peacebuilding into development and community-assistance projects, such as water management . Such funding to develop more projects like these can only be of benefit to the region. Joint Work from a Palestinian Perspective Joint work is also not always relevant in the Palestinian context. Since the two political entities are at such different levels of socioeconomic development and civic education , it is understandable that there is not always “common ground” between Israeli and Palestinian NGOs. Priorities for one are likely to be discounted or ignored by the other. Besides, Palestinian organizations take accusations of “normalization” seriously—the implication being that by cooperating and working with Israeli organizations they are accepting the status quo of the Israeli occupation. Further, from a political perspective, it remains a fact that until the Palestinians receive full independence and a resolution over shared water resources with Israel, it will be a challenge for Palestinian organizations to engage in long-term planning for water management. aburdeineh, bromberg, michaels, teschner 288 There is also, however, a widespread understanding that in the current context, water access and sanitation are basic humanitarian issues, and that some degree of cooperation with Israel is necessary due to the transboundary nature of the issue. Even the Hamas-led government in Gaza has indicated that they are open to discuss water management issues with Israel through a mediator. Therefore, some major Palestinian water-focused organizations, such as PHG and ARIJ, have worked on joint projects with academic institutions in Israel. Palestinian organizations, such as the German-government-funded GLOWA project, have also worked together in the context of large regional projects focused on the future of the Jordan River Valley. Joint Work from an Israeli Perspective With plenty of work to be done to protect water courses and prevent pollution from sources inside Israel and the disappointment of the collapse of the peace process, it is perhaps not surprising that for most Israeli environmental organizations , cross-boundary issues are not currently high on the agenda. In some cases this is organizational policy: for example, Adam Teva V’Din does not work over the Green Line, although it did take one case against the establishment of a landfill for Israeli waste being established in a settlement on the West Bank. Notably, few Israeli peace organizations have comprehensively addressed water issues except for humanitarian efforts. For example, several years ago the Givat Haviva Institute of the Hashomer HaTzair youth movement provided tankers of water to provide relief...

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