War over Water (Jordan river)

The "War over Water" (Hebrew: המלחמה על המים, HaMilhama al HaMaim), also the Battle over Water (Hebrew: הקרב על המים, HaKrav al HaMaim), refers to a series of confrontations between Israel and its Arab neighbors from November 1964 to May 1967 over control of available water sources in the Jordan River drainage basin.

History
The 1949 Armistice Agreements which followed the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, created three Demilitarized zones on the Israel-Syria border. The southernmost, and also the largest of stretched from the south-eastern part of the Sea of Galilee eastwards to the Yarmuk River where the borders of Israel, Jordan and Syria converged. The issue of sharing the waters of the Jordan–Yarmuk system between Israel, Syria and Jordan turned out to be a major problem.

Small scale water-related skirmishes had occurred following the 1949 agreements. In July 1953, Israel began construction of the intake of its National Water Carrier at the Daughters of Jacob Jordan Bridge north of the Sea of Galilee and in the demilitarized zone. Syrian artillery units opened fire on the construction site. The United Nations security council majority (except of the USSR) voted for resumption of work by Israel. The Israelis then moved the intake to an economically inferior site at the Sea of Galilee.

At 1955 the Jordan Valley Unified Water Plan (Johnston Plan) was accepted by the technical committees of both Israel and the Arab League. The Arab League Council decided on 11 October 1955 not to ratify the plan. According to most observers, including Johnston himself, the Arab non-adoption of the plan was not total rejection. while they failed to approve it politically, they were determined to adhere to the technical details. Moreover, it was later seriously considered by Arab leaders.

Though the Unified Plan failed to be ratified, both Jordan and Israel undertook to operate within their allocations. Israel completed its National Water Carrier which siphoned water from the Sea of Galilee in 1964. The initial diversion capacity of the National Water Carrier without supplementary booster pumps was 320 million m3, well within the limits of the Johnston Plan. The Arab states were not prepared to coexist with this project, that seemed likely to make a major contribution to Israel economic growth. The Arab states decided to deprive Israel of a 35% of the National Water Carrier capacity, by a diversion of the Jordan River headwaters (both the Hasbani and the Banias) to the Yarmouk River, although the scheme was only marginally feasible, it was technically difficult and expensive.

A major escalation took place in 1964. Israel declared it would regard such a project as an infringement of its sovereign rights.

At 1965, there were 3 notable border clashes, starting with the Syrians shooting Israeli farmers and army patrols, and continuing by Israeli tanks and artillery destroying the Arab heavy earth moving machines that were used for the diversion plan. . The Arab countries eventually abandoned their project. Control of water resources and Israeli military attacks regarding the diversion effort are considered among the major factors which led to the Six-Day War in June 1967.