In another month and a half, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will go to the peace conference in Washington to be held under the aegis of the American administration. There are some who say that the conference will not produce any results or achievements beyond what has already been achieved. What is sure is that the well-known core subjects – the borders of a Palestinian state, the evacuation of the settlements, the division of Jerusalem into two capitals and the issue of the refugees – will be discussed with sensitivity and determination.
An important issue that will not be discussed, and which has never been discussed in talks with the Palestinians, is the effort to find a joint solution to the environmental problems of the region. Dealing with environmental issues crosses borders and political inclinations. Every supporter of the Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu or, alternately, a person on the left, would be able to discuss this matter with his Palestinian counterpart without fearing that he had compromised a piece of land from the area of the land of Israel.
Dealing with environmental quality could lead to swift cooperation that could bridge the gaps and build confidence. Subjects such as building a joint green lung between the West Bank and Israel with international funding, the rehabilitation of the polluted rivers in the territories and the exchange of environmental information, could form the basis of countless meetings, investments in mutual projects and so forth.
According to UN Relief and Works Agency s reports of the past few years to the UN institutions in New York, the situation of the sanitation infrastructures in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip is one of the worst in the world. This would be the place to transfer information from projects that have already been undertaken in Israel – desalination of sea water, laying of underground infrastructures, use of solar energy, and creating electricity through gas – which contributes to a considerable reduction in air pollution.
Recently there have been reports of a new enterprise by The Israel Corporation and a group headed by Shai Agassi for the establishment of infrastructure necessary to introduce electrically powered vehicles in Israel. Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in developing and producing vehicles of this type can form a mutual basis for peoples in the seam area between the West Bank and Israel.
In other words, instead of setting up barbed-wire fences in the Palestinian territories, it is possible to set up green factories that will create workplaces and reduce the desire on the part of the Palestinians to engage in terror activities.
Understanding green issues and placing them at the top of the agenda of both Israel and the PA could reshape the Middle East. Speak also about the quality of the environment – and the sooner the better!
Shlomi Vruneris a student of governance and society at The Academic College of Tel Aviv. He served as a political adviser to former cabinet minister Ephraim Sneh. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org.
