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From: bh437292@longs.LANCE.ColoState.Edu (Basil Hamdan)
Subject: Re: Basil, opinions? (Re: Water on the brain)
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Message-ID: <Apr16.181748.24005@yuma.ACNS.ColoState.EDU>
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1993 18:17:48 GMT
Reply-To: bh437292@lance.colostate.edu
References: <1q9h3b$bbh@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> <HM.93Apr12124956@dooley.cs.brown.edu> <1993Apr12.224713.17086@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu> <1qefjqINNa6i@early-bird.think.com> <1993Apr13.150435.16333@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu> <1993Apr15.055341.6075@nysernet.org> <1993Apr15.204930.9517@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu> <1qmdtlINNkrc@early-bird.think.com>
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In article <1qmdtlINNkrc@early-bird.think.com>, shaig@Think.COM (Shai Guday) writes:
|> In article <1993Apr15.204930.9517@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>, hasan@McRCIM.McGill.EDU  writes:
|> |> 
|> |> In article <1993Apr15.055341.6075@nysernet.org>, astein@nysernet.org (Alan Stein) writes:
|> |> |> I guess Hasan finally revealed the source of his claim that Israel
|> |> |> diverted water from Lebanon--his imagination.
|> |> |> -- 
|> |> |> Alan H. Stein                     astein@israel.nysernet.org
|> |> Mr. water-head,
|> |> i never said that israel diverted lebanese rivers, in fact i said that
|> |> israel went into southern lebanon to  make sure that no 
|> |> water is being used on the lebanese
|> |> side, so that all water would run into Jordan river where there
|> |> israel will use it  !#$%^%&&*-head.
|> 
|> Of course posting some hard evidence or facts is much more
|> difficult.  You have not bothered to substantiate this in
|> any way.  Basil, do you know of any evidence that would support
|> this?

I agree with Shai,  there are many references to Israeli
plans on the Litani river but I have yet to find hard 
evidence.  I had mentioned before that there is a report
commissioned by the UN to study the Litani river, it is 
still in draft form.  The Israeli gov't also commissioned
a study on the river that was done by Dr. Ben Wolfe.
The Litani starts in the Bekaa valley in Lebanon,
flows Southward, then West across South Lebanon and
discharges into the Mediterranean near the city of Tyre.
There are other rivers such as the Hasbani and the Wazzani
that start in Lebanese territory than join the Jordan river.  
The most mentioned plan was one that would divert water
from the Litani into these, then the water would flow
naturally into the Lac De Houle.  BUT there is no evidence
of any diversion structure (which would need to be at least
3 km long).  The area is mountainous, inaccessible and
occupied by Israel so I have not seen any independent 
reports of the existence of any diversion structure there.
Another often mentioned diversion is through deep wells.
It is also rumored that Israe has 600 m wells
tapping into deep aquifers and drawing water on the
Israeli side of the border.  If such wells are indeed
under use they would be costly to operate 
(high energy costs) and the Lebanese and Israeli gov't should 
agree on the distribution of water from shared aquifers
as part of an overall peace plan and the bilateral
negociations on "regional issues".  The fact that we have
been at war all this time has led to the current state
of affairs where withdrawals from such aquifers is
completely unregulated.


Basil





|> |> Hasan 
|> 
|> -- 
|> Shai Guday              | Stealth bombers,
|> OS Software Engineer    |
|> Thinking Machines Corp. |	the winged ninjas of the skies.
|> Cambridge, MA           |
