Israeli Infrastructure Minister Avigdor Lieberman proposed Tuesday that a desalinization plant be set up by Israel and the Palestinians on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel, said Haaretz.
The proposed plant would be part of an effort to deal with the regions chronic water shortages as it would produce between 200 - 400 million cubic liters of water a year. Estimated costs for the plant are $600 million and the cost of water will be 70 cents per cubic liter, almost double the cost of water produced today by Mekorot, Israel's water company, according to the report.
Lieberman said that it would only be possible to set up the plant with foreign aid. Lieberman added that Israel would not hold back "even one cubic meter of water" from the Palestinians and Jordanians.
According to Haaretz, Israel currently supplies them with 100 million cubic liters of water annually. He said that the water shortage in the Palestinian Authority and Jordan was even greater than in Israel and that Israel would not deprive civilian populations living in those areas.
Lieberman is a right winger from the National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu party, and a fan of former premier Benjamin Netanyahu – Albawaba.com
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