Hasbani river flows back into controversy

For such a small and innocuous-looking river, the Hasbani has generated considerable fuss over the past 40 years.
During “Israel’s” occupation of the South, the Lebanese regularly accused “Israel” of illegally pumping water from the Hasbani. The accusations were correct. The “Israelis” had installed two small pumps at the Wazzani springs on the west bank of the Hasbani which fed drinking water into the occupied village of Ghajar on top of the east bank. The water was carried via two 4-inch pipes slung across the river.
The Wazzani springs contribute 20-25 million cubic meters (mcm) to the Hasbani’s total annual flow of 125mcm. The springs continue to flow during the summer months when the river above Wazzani runs dry.
The Hasbani naturally flows into “Israel”, 3 kilometers south of Ghajar. The river is joined by the Banias, which rises in the “Israeli”-occupied Golan Heights, and the waters of the Dan springs.
The combined river, known as the Upper Jordan, eventually flows into the Sea of Galilee. The Jordan river emerges from the southern end of the Sea of Galilee.
Now that Lebanon has decided to insert its own 4-inch pipe into the Wazzani springs to supply much-needed drinking water to the impoverished village of Wazzani (also known as Arab Louaize), “Israel” has begun threatening harsh retaliation.
“There is no water in the Middle East. Therefore, understandings must be reached. If not, it can turn into a war or a forceful confrontation,” thundered Uri Saguy, the head of the “Israeli” Mekorot water company and a former head of “Israeli” military intelligence.
Despite the rhetoric, the “Israelis” are fully aware of the limited extent of the work being undertaken at the Wazzani springs.
UNIFIL informed the “Israeli” Army that Lebanese construction workers would be installing a pump before the project began on Feb. 20.
“Israel’s” bellicose public response three weeks later has little to do with objections over a Lebanese village receiving drinking water and everything to do with warning Lebanon of the repercussions of considering a more ambitious water diversion plan for the Hasbani.
This is not the first time that “Israel” has locked horns with its northern neighbors over the waters of the Hasbani.
In January 1964, Arab governments met to block an “Israeli” plan to divert water from the Jordan river to the coastal areas of “Israel”.
The options available were to complain to the UN, prevent the Upper Jordan tributaries (the Hasbani and Banias) from reaching “Israel” or go to war.
Eight months later, it was decided to divert the Hasbani into the Litani river and the Banias down the length of the Golan Heights to the Yarmuk.
The scheme threatened to disrupt “Israel’s” own water plans. In March, May and August 1965, “Israeli” tanks attacked Syrian construction works near Banias.
On July 14, 1966, “Israeli” aircraft and tanks halted for good the Syrian diversion efforts.
However, the water skirmishes led to further border incidents between Syria and “Israel”, which culminated in the June war of 1967 and the occupation of the Golan Heights.
After Ghajar was occupied in 1967, “Israel” destroyed a pumping station and an 8-inch pipe beside the Wazzani springs on the Lebanese side of the border.
The pump and pipe were installed four years earlier by the government to supply drinking and irrigation water to Wazzani village. The new pump house is located beside the derelict remains of the original building.
In 1979, a year after “Israel” established the occupation zone in the South, the Mekorot water company examined the possibility of diverting the springs to irrigate parts of “Israel”. The plan entailed extending the border northward by about 1 kilometer, but the scheme failed.

The Daily Star, 16-3-2001.