Kowsar has been criticizing Iran's water management since the s, especially for its emphasis on dam-building — a short-term solution to a long-term problem, he argues. Kowsar says large dams in a hot and dry country are a waste of time as too much water evaporates from the reservoirs. Neighboring Iraq, too, is struggling with acute and chronic water shortages and its dam-building has also proven counter-productive, say critics.
Economic hardship for those whose livelihoods relied upon river water has also driven rural to urban migration, putting significant strain on already over-populated towns and cities, exacerbating housing, job and electricity shortages, and widening the gap between haves and have-nots.
To make up for shortfalls farmers and governments across the region are pumping huge amounts of groundwater, which longer-term is unsustainable and risks turning fertile land into deserts.
In , NASA satellites mapped out the cumulative freshwater losses in the region since and found parts of Iran and Iraq had seen from 6 inches to 10 inches of groundwater depletion thanks largely to human activity. As the crisis unfolds, there are also risks of conflict between neighboring states competing over scarce water resources.
Search Search. Home United States U. It is uncertain and uneven because of the divergence in vaccination The IMF said in a report that while the prospects for oil-exporting economies improved with higher oil prices, low-income and crisis-hit countries were witnessing "fragile" recoveries.
It warned of "a rise in social unrest" in that "could pick up further due to repeated infection waves, dire economic conditions, high unemployment and food prices". Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan other countries have been witnessing protests in recent months by thousands of angry citizens demanding better jobs and services. Unemployment increased in MENA last year by 1. It is Mahmoud Abbas who is now obstructionist and trying to block the way to an internationally brokered agreement.
This switch is a reaction to what he sees as a reversal by the Trump administration of American policy on the Palestinian issue and adoption of the Israeli narrative in its entirety. In the move of the U. Abbas also sees the American moves and Israeli contacts with Hamas as an attempt to marginalize and leapfrog the Palestinian Authority, and therefore as a threat to the Palestinian Authority and to his own authority and legacy.
He may well be urged on in this position by persistent reports that one of the goals of the Egyptian-Israeli ceasefire efforts in Gaza is to pave the return of former PA Gaza security chief Mohamad Dahlan as a successor to Abu Mazen.
The PA has therefore broken off formal contact with the American administration, taken an obstructionist and rejectionist position regarding recent developments in Gaza, preemptively rejected the trumpeted Trump peace initiative, and ramped up its promotion of unarmed resistance to Israel and public diplomacy to delegitimize Israel.
The last significant influencing factor in the Middle East this summer is the United States and the American President. The biggest news this August was the Turkish financial crisis, aggravated by American sanctions and punitive tariffs imposed over the continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson and others on charges of assisting opponents of the regime. There are good reasons for the U.
The current kerfuffle, however, does not seem to be part of a strategy to use levers of American power to bring a rogue NATO ally to heel it does not help that NATO has no mechanism for suspending membership. The current crisis with Turkey seems more to follow the hasty and extremely problematical policy towards North Korea, Russia, and international trade issues. This summer has also seen statements by President Trump, and actions in the region, which indicate a worrisome disregard for the complexities of the region.
Trump and his policies illustrate apparent unwillingness—with the extremely significant exception of Iranian sanctions—to shoulder the burden of leadership, which is being taken up by rival powers. It was the single greatest mistake in the history of our country. In the negotiation, Israel will have to pay a higher price because they want a very big thing, but I took it off the table.
In addition, the U. Arab leaders, even those friendly to the U. The much heralded Sunni Camp seems to be more of a theoretical construct popular in Israel than a unified player with the ability to shape regional politics, since the interests of Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia are often not lining up. Egypt, while still not punching its weight in the region, has come off the bench.
Hamas may be up, and Abbas down. In Israel, the whiff of election fever is in the air: Prime Minister Netanyahu may push for the polls to open in February-March, rather than November , to preserve his ascendancy and perhaps even cement it further.
If you are reading this page and can't see the form you will need to visit the mobile version of the BBC website to submit your question or comment or you can email us at HaveYourSay bbc. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. Old grievances fuel new fighting. Scores injured in fresh clashes in Jerusalem. Israeli police clash with Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Over injured in East Jerusalem clashes. This video can not be played To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. Jeremy Bowen: Old grievances fuel new fighting Residents react to the latest violence What makes Jerusalem so holy? The Israel-Palestinian conflict explained. What happened in Lod? Image source, Getty Images. A funeral was held for a man who died during unrest in Lod on Monday. Cars and businesses were burned during the riots in Lod, Israeli media reported.
What do we know of the latest fighting? Image source, Reuters. The Israeli military says its strikes on Gaza are the largest since Image source, EPA. What has caused the violence? Why the ancient city of Jerusalem is so important.
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