Editor's Note: This article is the sixth installment in a RANE series on the geopolitical impacts of water stress. The first provides a broad overview of how the unequal distribution of freshwater shapes geopolitical patterns. The second examines the risks of water stress destabilizing economies across the globe. The third discusses the impacts of water stress in Europe. The fourth explores China's strategy for addressing water stress. The fifth looks at the security implications of water scarcity in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa. 

Israel will continue to leverage its advanced desalination technology as part of its efforts to normalize relations with its Arab neighbors, but the success of Tel Aviv's water diplomacy is currently limited by the ongoing conflict in Gaza and will ultimately depend on the future direction of its political and military activities in the region. While the ongoing war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip is complicating its diplomatic standing in the region and sidetracking normalization talks with Saudi Arabia, Israel has nevertheless continued to pursue collaborative relationships with its neighbors, including in the water sector. As part of its normalization efforts in the Middle East, Israel has sought to highlight a range of diplomatic offerings to its Arab partners, including sharing expertise and technology for sustainable water management practices and engaging in water allocation agreements. Given that the Middle East is already one of the most water-stressed regions in the world and has also felt the early effects of climate change via extreme heat waves and droughts, effective water solutions for potable drinking water, irrigation and wastewater management have become crucially important for many countries. To combat water insecurity, several Middle Eastern countries are increasingly turning to desalination technology, which leverages processes like evaporation or reverse osmosis to strip salt and other minerals from water in order to make it potable. Israel, in particular, has been at the forefront of desalination technology, relying on five major domestic desalination plants for approximately 85% of its drinking water.

• In September 2020, Israel signed two bilateral agreements with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in what was collectively referred to as the ''Abraham Accords.'' This signaled the first establishment of diplomatic relations between an Arab country and Israel since 1994 and joined Egypt and Jordan in recognizing Israel as a sovereign nation. Months later, Morocco and Sudan also signed on to the Accords. 
• Prior to the onset of the war in Gaza, U.S. President Joe Biden was seeking to conclude normalization negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Back-door negotiations are reportedly still underway. 
• During the U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28) in November 2023, Israel was slated to ratify a three-way deal with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. The deal would have seen Amman build 600 megawatts of solar power capacity to export to Israel in return for 200 million cubic meters of desalinated water from plants built with UAE funding. However, the diplomatic fallout from the war in Gaza has delayed the deal. 

Israel's success in water solutions is the result of the country's arid climate and lack of freshwater sources, which has driven advancements in technologies like desalination. Like most of the Middle East, Israel suffers from a dearth of natural freshwater sources, forcing the country to historically rely on just one water source, the Sea of Galilee, for most of its potable water. As Israel's population has grown, the government has been forced to adapt to a growing water demand coupled with depleting natural water sources. Moreover, climate change patterns and warming temperatures have further driven water stress in Israel and the greater region. To combat this issue, Israel and several other Middle Eastern countries have pursued water management solutions like desalination plants to create potable water. However, desalination technology is not easily accessible to all countries. First of all, building desalination plants is extremely expensive due to the costs of advanced equipment, extensive pipe infrastructure, utility connections and skilled labor. Desalination plants also have massive operational costs because of their energy-intensive processes, which also produce a salty byproduct called brine that can be expensive to discard. Consequently, only wealthier Middle Eastern countries like Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have pursued desalination solutions in spite of the ubiquitous water needs across the region. While several other countries also possess desalination capabilities, Israel is a global leader in the sector because of its highly advanced and innovative breakthroughs.

• There are two main types of seawater desalination technologies: thermal desalination and reverse osmosis (RO). Thermal desalination is a more traditional process that uses heat from power plants or refineries to evaporate and condense water to purify it. RO desalination leverages the process of osmosis to remove salt and other impurities by transferring water through semi-permeable membranes. RO is considered much more efficient.
• Israel runs five desalination plants along the Mediterranean coast: Sorek, Hadara, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Palmachin. Combined, desalination activities in the country constitute between 5-10% of Israel's annual energy consumption. Two additional plants are currently under construction. 
• Israeli companies have pioneered and implemented several advanced water solutions, including drip irrigation and water-from-air conversion techniques, which other countries have failed to adopt.

Though water diplomacy is not a driver for normalization per se, Israel has used it as a mechanism for fostering warmer relations with other countries in the region. Water has played a significant role in Israel's relationships with its regional neighbors, particularly following the establishment of successive normalization agreements. For example, under the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, Israel has transferred 50 million cubic meters of water annually to neighboring Jordan, an amount that was later doubled to 100 million cubic meters in July 2021. Israel has also partnered with companies in countries that already manage a series of desalination plants on their own, such as Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, sharing expertise on innovative and sustainable solutions that lower the cost of operating expensive plants. Despite Israel's sophisticated desalination solutions, water diplomacy has only played a supporting role in strengthening relationships following the establishment of formal diplomatic relations rather than being itself a driver towards normalization. This is demonstrated by the fact that several regional countries facing extreme water stress, like Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Qatar and Yemen, have not pursued diplomatic routes with Israel. Several of these countries lack the current political stability and subsequent public infrastructure to even facilitate desalination processes. Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan and Syria are all suffering endemic domestic violence resulting from warring factions and a lack of central governance that has led to little to no public or government services. Other countries that possess the political stability and resources to invest in desalination have pursued domestic initiatives rather than relying on Israel, particularly the Gulf countries.

• In November 2022, Israel's Mekorot National Water Company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kingdom of Morocco's National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), according to which the two organizations agreed to cooperate on seawater desalination, water sanitation, research and development, and facility management. 
• In January 2023, Israeli water company IDE Technologies announced the opening of its regional headquarters in Dubai as part of the company's effort to grow its presence in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the fragile state of Arab-Israeli relations during the Gaza war, water diplomacy is emerging as a key factor in sustaining established normalization frameworks. Regional cooperation is likely to resume once a ceasefire is reached, allowing Israel to use its water technology to strengthen future diplomatic ties. Further normalization efforts between Israel and its neighbors are unlikely to emerge while the war in Gaza persists, and a potential conflict with Hezbollah in south Lebanon looms as diplomacy with Israel continues to be unpalatable for many Arab countries. Nevertheless, regional countries that already maintain normalized relations with Israel are unlikely to sever ties in light of the significant economic and security benefits that normalization offers, including water partnerships, even while decrying Israel's military activity in the region. For example, both Jordan and Morocco — which are currently suffering severe water crises — have reaffirmed their commitments to bilateral water initiatives with Israel despite widespread domestic protests calling for an end to normalization, partly due to their reliance on Israeli supplies of potable water. While Israel's advanced water technology offerings per se will not suffice in driving new normalization agreements, water diplomacy represents an element of resilience for already established normalization frameworks amid adverse political pressures. Moreover, for Arab countries interested in taking progressive approaches toward normalization efforts with Israel, such as Saudi Arabia, water diplomacy will likely be one avenue for the two countries to bolster collaboration. 

• While Amman has sought to distance itself from Israel by taking steps like recalling its ambassador in November 2023, Jordan also requested that Israel extend its water-sharing arrangement in March 2024 by an additional year, a request to which Israel claimed it would only grant if Jordan clamped down on its criticism of Israel's conduct in the war.
• Given Saudi Arabia's array of ambitious domestic goals like Vision 2030 (Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious roadmap for economic diversification, modernization and energy sustainability), which is already suffering setbacks due to budget cuts and a lack of foreign domestic investment, Riyadh also has ample reason to pursue water-related partnerships — especially as it seeks to bolster the sustainability of its energy initiatives.

While water diplomacy will continue to play a supporting role in regional relations, Israel's political actions — as opposed to its possession of advanced desalination technology — will dictate regional countries' willingness to partner with Tel Aviv in the future. For Israel, the region's significant water demand will provide Tel Aviv with opportunities for diplomatic engagement, both with countries it has already normalized relations with and potential new partners like Saudi Arabia. This means Israel's sophisticated water solutions will continue to feature in the country's foreign policy agenda. For countries that have already normalized relations with Israel, particularly those without the domestic capabilities to create water scarcity solutions themselves — such as Morocco and Jordan — Israel's desalination abilities will offer accessible options to handle growing water insecurity. Still, despite the appeal of Israel's advanced water solutions, its ongoing political and military activities in the region will largely determine Tel Aviv's diplomatic relations, as the current geopolitical situation demonstrates. Arab countries, even those suffering dire water crises, will not engage with Israel diplomatically until much more contentious political disagreements are settled. Against this backdrop, water diplomacy will somewhat help support diplomatic relations Israel has already established in the region despite its ongoing unpopular military campaigns. Still, it will only be effective in supporting new diplomatic outreach if accompanied by a general improvement in its relations with other Middle Eastern countries, which depends on the outlook of ongoing crises in Gaza and Lebanon.