Sharon: Water Pumping Station in Lebanon is Grounds for War

I heard this story first here at Israpundit and then on NPR's All things Considered.

Here is the BBC's report on this.

An alleged Lebanese scheme to divert water from a river feeding Israel's largest reservoir could provoke a war, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has warned.

Israeli army radio quoted the prime minister as saying on Tuesday that the issue constituted a "casus belli", or "grounds for war".



He was addressing senior military and civilian officials after a cabinet meeting.

Lebanon opened a pumping-station on the River Hasbani in the spring of 2001 to irrigate a drought-stricken village but denies that it plans to dam the river.

The river supplies between 20 and 25% of the water flowing into the Sea of Galilee, an official at Israel's Ministry of Agriculture was quoted as saying by the French news agency AFP.

It rises in Lebanon and flows for about 50 kilometres (30 miles) through its territory before joining the River Jordan and emptying into the Sea of Galilee.

Army radio said Mr Sharon had notified the United States that Israel could mount military operations should Lebanon begin pumping water out of the Hasbani or its tributary, the River Wazzani.

The Israeli Transportation Minister, Ephraim Sneh, said Mr Sharon had called for a "good and enlightened way" to settle the issue but was ready to "act".

"If Lebanon put into effect its project to siphon water from the river, it would be serious enough a reason for Israel to act," Mr Sneh told the radio station.

A spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon has denied Beirut is siphoning water from the Hasbani, saying it is only piping water to a village suffering a shortage.

At a ceremony to mark the start of the new water supply to the village of Wazzani last March, a Lebanese Government official said it was a "first step".

"This is the first step towards liberating our water, a symbol of sovereignty and simple rights," said Qablan Qablan at the opening of the pumping station.

Israel controlled the Hasbani during its occupation of southern Lebanon in 1978-2000.

Would it be too much for Israel to negotiate with Lebanon so that Lebanese people in the region can enjoy the modern day benefits of water? Oh I suppose Arabs are not human and don't need water. Okay, that statement was extreme, but this is a Lebanese river which does empty out in the sea of Galilee. Lebanon has as much right to it as does Israel. This is were normal people sit down and negotiate, but not Sharon, who sees this as yet another way to stick it to Arabs.

Apparently the U.S. representative is shuttling back and forth but Sharon's saber rattling has vastly complicated issues. As much as it is clear that Israel possesses military superiority, this could spark a region wide war and even though Israel will kick butt, they will take a pretty bad punch adn it si not clera that they'll receive overwhelming US public support if the truth of the story gets out.

Israel has legitimate concerns but what they need is someone else, and not Mr. Sharon in there to lead. The man is obsessed with war, hatred of Arabs and destruction.