Israel and Turkey Agree On Arms-For-Water Deal

[hatrack]

"Israel and Turkey have agreed an extraordinary "water for arms" deal which will see millions of gallons of fresh water shipped in giant tankers across the eastern Mediterranean and into Israeli ports.
In a series of linked agreements expected to have long-term strategic implications throughout the Middle East, the Israeli prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and Turkey's former energy minister Zeki Cakan reached the water deal at a meeting in Jerusalem yesterday. An official in Mr Sharon's office, said Turkey tied the arms deal to the water agreement.

It will involve Israel building a fleet of giant water tankers to ship 50 million cubic metres of water a year for 20 years from the river Manavgat in Anatolia, and Turkey buying an unspecified number of Israeli tanks as well as air force technology.

EDIT

Sales of the resource could boost its (ed. - Turkey's) position as a regional power, bring in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in hard currency, and act as a peace bridge between countries, says its government .

Israel, which uses far more water per capita than any other state in the region, is already desperately short and expects to need much more in the next 20 years for farming and industrial development. Israel's hydrological service says the country's water reserves are in real danger of becoming salinised, and the levels of its reservoirs and major freshwater lakes often fall to dangerously low levels."

EDIT

Fascinating.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1116865,00.html

[el_gato]

1. that situation is unsustainable

Isreal has a real problem on its hands.