A Reminder from Israel and Gaza on the Importance and Limitations of Environmental Peacebuilding

Oct 13, 2023 | Peter Schwartzstein
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For those of us not party to the conflict but engaged in the regional environmental peacebuilding space, all of this is a grim reminder of something long understood but that the author––and perhaps others––are inclined to forget: You cannot disconnect the environment and natural resources like water from a conflict’s wider dynamics, no matter how many ‘wins’ practitioners have previously amassed. You can build new wastewater treatment facilities in Palestinian towns to the benefit of their inhabitants and Jewish communities alike, but that does not negate the basic reality of an increasingly brutal Israeli occupation of the West Bank. You can develop ties between mayors on either side of the Jordan River to facilitate joint action on pollution, biodiversity preservation, and crop health, but that does little to stifle the viciousness of Hamas ideology.