Can Water Mitigate the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict? – the Case for Environmental Peacemaking

Water resources have always occupied an important role in the bilateral negotiations of the Middle East peace process, as it defined the water issues between Israel and the Palestinian territories. This paper aims to shed light on the possibility of whether environmental concerns are an efficient mechanism in bringing conflicting countries to the bargaining table. This paper will argue that issues over water scarcity can be resolved peacefully through international cooperation and negotiation, rather than through military force. The paper will provide an assessment of geographical case studies related to the water issue (which serves as the empirical background of this paper), and will support the argument that environmental cooperation can be used to promote peace as opposed to peace being a prerequisite for environmental cooperation. The anticipated results will consider the current complications of the recent conflict within the region in order to assess the degree of success in including environmental security issues within the conflict resolution negotiations.