While the arguments go back and forth whether or not Israel's security is threatened by unilateral territorial withdrawal from the administered territories and the Golan Heights, one issue has been studiously glossed over by advocates for territorial concessions: water.

Israel has a water problem. No country can physically exist without sufficient supply of this most vital liquid, and Israel is no exception. Located on the fringe of a desert, Israel is almost wholly dependent on seasonal rainfall for her water supply. Rarely do Israelis experience rainfall outside of a five-month winter season from November through March.

Moreover, Israel has a growing population that maintains a modest level of Western standard of living, where water (for bathing regularly, drinking freely, etc.) is not considered a luxury. Nonetheless, it shouldn't be assumed that Israeli water consumption is extravagant; by Western standards, it is low. Recent figures show that Israeli average annual per capita municipal consumption is less than half of that of domestic consumption in Southern California, for example-a region with similar climatic conditions (Arutz-7 Net Editor, October 8, 1999).