Rivers of Fire: The Conflict over Water in the Midle East

In a never-ending battle to match population growth with food and energy production, the countries of the Middle East have been frenziedly developing water resources without considering their neighbors' needs. The inevitable result has been more frequent and increasingly bitter conflicts. At the same time, a halting Arab-Israeli peace process continues. Are we indeed entering a new era in a new Middle East? Focusing on international rivers and ground water, this timely study provides thoughtful_if pessimistic_answers to this question. Examining each water source in the Middle East, Soffer also weighs the implications of going to war over water and such unconventional solutions to the water shortage as desalination and importation.

Arnon Soffer is professor of geography at the University of Haifa, Israel.