Along with the issues of borders, Palestinian refugees, settlements, security and the city of Jerusalem itself, the issue of water is also central to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Israel and Palestine share three main water resources: the Jordan River with three other riparian countries (Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon), the Coastal Aquifer (Israel and Gaza) and the Mountain Aquifer, which consists of the North-Eastern, Western and Eastern Mountain Aquifers (Israel and the West Bank). Conflicts and cooperation have accompanied the relations between the two nations since 1967, when Israel nationalized water resources in the occupied territories, specifically over the mountain and coastal aquifers, where it disproportionately allocates and sells water to the Palestinians. Natural resources are limited, the population is constantly growing, and disputes over the ownership and use of water resources are exacerbated by the close overlap between the geology of the mountain aquifer and political borders. Over the decades, we have witnessed many efforts to resolve the water issue, but little progress has been made due to the lack of cooperation from both sides.
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