Headwater Diversion Plan

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In 1955 the Unified (Johnston) Plan to develop a multilateral approach to water management failed to be ratified, which reinforced unilateral development. Nevertheless, both Jordan and Israel undertook to operate within their allocations, and two major successful projects were undertaken: the Israeli National Water Carrier and Jordan's East Ghor Main Canal.

Shortly before completion of the Israeli Water Carrier in 1964, an Arab summit conference decided to try to thwart it. Discarding direct military attack, the Arab states chose to divert the Jordan headwaters. Two options were considered: either the diversion of the Hasbani to the Litani and the diversion of the Banias to the Yarmouk, or the diversion of both the Hasbani and the Banias to the Yarmouk. The latter was chosen, with the diverted waters to be stored behind the Mukhaiba dam. Financial issues were to be solved by contributions from Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

In 1965, Syria commenced construction of the Headwater Diversion Plan, which, once completed, would have diverted the waters of the Banias Stream before the water entered Israel and the Sea of Galilee; to flow instead into a dam at Mukhaiba for use by Jordan and Syria, and divert the waters of the Hasbani into the Litani River in Lebanon. The diversion works would have reduced the installed capacity of Israel's carrier by about 35%, and Israel's overall water supply by about 11%. Israel declared that it would regard such diversion as an infringement of its sovereign rights.^[1]

In a series of military strikes, Israel hit the diversion works in March, May, and August of 1965. The attacks culminated in April 1967 in air strikes deep inside Syria. The increase in water-related Arab-Israeli hostility was a major factor leading to the June 1967 Six-Day War.^[2]

Since its decisive victory in that war, Israel has occupied the Syrian Golan Heights, from which water resources continue flowing into the Sea of Galilee.