“And God said: ‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.” (Genesis 1:9)

Imagine a project bringing three wary partners to the same table, a project that will generate water supplies and eventually electricity for all three, and will save a unique ecosystem.  Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority signed an agreement early this week that is designed to do all of the above and maybe more.  A memorandum of understanding was signed at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on Monday by the ministers responsible for water in the three governments: Silvan Shalom of Israel, Hazem Nasser of Jordan and Shaddad Attili of the Palestinian Authority.  The deal was the result of eleven years of negotiations.

According to the World Bank’s Water Practices Division, the project will be “limited in scale and designed to accomplish two objectives: to provide new water to a critically water short region; and the opportunity, under scientific supervision, to better understand the consequences of mixing Red Sea and Dead Sea waters.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Jordan will provide 50 million cubic liters of desalinated water to Israel’s Red Sea resort of Eilat, while Israel will send the same amount of water from the Sea of Galilee to Jordan.  At the same time, Israel will raise annual sales of water to the Palestinian Authority from the current level of 52 million cubic meters, adding another 20-30 million cubic meters a year.

A desalination plant will be built in Jordan which will serve as the focal point of the joint venture.  To be completed in 2014, the plant will provide roughly 100 million cubic meters of water, enough to meet Jordan’s water needs.  Jordan will share the water with Israel, which will in turn release water from the Kinneret to Jordan.  Currently, Israel sells 50 million cubic meters of water from the Kinneret annually to Jordan, and would increase its sales by a similar amount.  Meanwhile, the plant would ship saltwater to the Dead Sea, to replenish its levels and try to preserve the unique environment.  The level of the Dead Sea is dropping by 4 feet a year, representing an annual loss of about 1.6 billion cubic meters.

Environmentalists have expressed concerns about the plans, worrying about the consequences of mixing water from the Red Sea with that of the Dead Sea.

Beyond the details of the water agreement, the memorandum may signal new hope for future negotiations.  All three parties involved praised the deal.  “It gives a glimmer of hope that we can overcome more obstacles in the future,” said Shalom, Israel’s Minister of Energy and Water Resources at the signing.  He said the plan will bring about  “strategic, economic and political cooperation,” and may provide a “window for regional peace.”

“We showed that we can work together despite the political problems,” said the Palestinian water minister, Attili.