Israel launched the largest water infrastructure project - Pump desalinated seawater from the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galililee
Jerusalem Post. Mekorot and Water Authority launch desalinated water project to Kinneret (Sea of Galilee)
The project, one of the most significant infrastructure projects in recent years, will maintain the level of Lake Kinneret even in years when the natural rainfall is lower than average.
The Mekorot national water company and the Water Authority launched the largest water infrastructure project of its kind in the North on Tuesday. It includes a new water transmission system that will pump desalinated seawater from the Mediterranean Sea to?Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee).
The NIS 1 billion project, one of the most significant infrastructure projects in recent years, will maintain the level of the Kinneret even in years when rainfall is lower than average.
The concept of pumping desalinated seawater northwards, in the opposite direction of the national water carrier’s route, came about following a series of?drought years ?(2013-2018) in which the amount of precipitation was lower than average. This resulted in the level of the Kinneret declining steadily until it reached the “black line,” the threshold from which water was no longer pumped.
How is water pumped into Lake Kinneret?
Mekorot , together with the Water Authority, led a project that would meet several challenges.The first challenge was maintaining the level of the Kinneret, a natural water source that serves as a national water reservoir for emergencies and as a source of water supply throughout the year for various economic needs, including agriculture.
The second challenge was geopolitical: Even during years of drought, Israel continued to supply water from the Kinneret to the?Kingdom of Jordan ?under the peace agreements signed between the two countries. Recently, the water supply to Jordan doubled to 100 million cubic meters per year, highlighting the need to maintain the level of the Kinneret in routine and emergency situations.
“This is a historic project that will be recorded in the annals of the Israeli water sector,” Mekorot chairman Yitzhak Aharonovich said.
Mekorot CEO Amit Lang said: “Mekorot, together with Mekorot Shacham, have once again proven that they can initiate, plan and execute innovative and groundbreaking solutions, and there is no task that cannot be performed.”
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The Hill. Biden administration working to halt Iran from delivering drones to Russia
The Biden administration is reportedly working to curb Iran’s ability to deliver drones to Russian troops for use in Ukraine by expanding efforts to choke Tehran’s production of the unmanned aerial vehicles.
The New York Times reported ?on the expanded push Wednesday, citing unnamed intelligence, military and national security officials. The administration is focusing on depriving Iran of the parts it needs to produce the drones.
Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, told the newspaper officials are “looking at ways to target” Iranian drone production “through sanctions, export controls, and talking to private companies whose parts have been used in the production.”
“We are assessing further steps we can take in terms of export controls to restrict Iran’s access to technologies used in drones,” Watson said.
The U.S. is also helping Ukrainian defenders target sites where drones are being launched and providing equipment to detect the drones early after launch, according to the Times.
Iranian drones are mostly assembled through parts produced in the U.S., Europe and Asia, according to a?November report ?from a weapons research group, Conflict Armament Research.
U.S. companies with parts ending up in the explosive drones, including Dallas-based Texas Instruments,?have condemned ?the use of their technology in the drones.
CNN?reported this month ?the Biden administration was creating a task force to investigate how U.S. tech was ending up in the Iranian drones.
Iranian drones have been deployed for widespread use in Ukraine since the fall. Russian forces have used them to attack critical infrastructure and energy grids in the country.
The U.S. has sanctioned Iranian entities and two companies in the United Arab Emirates allegedly involved with manufacturing the drones.
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Border security discussed at landmark Syrian-Turkish talks - Turkish official
Wednesday's meeting was the highest-level encounter reported between the sides since the start of the Syrian war more than a decade ago.
Landmark talks between the Syrian and Turkish defense ministers in?Moscow ?included border security and how Turkey can act jointly against Kurdish militants, a senior Turkish official said, after a meeting underlining thawing ties between the foes.
Wednesday's meeting was?the highest-level encounter reported between the sides since the start of the Syrian war more than a decade ago. Turkey has played a major part in the conflict, backing President?Bashar al-Assad 's opponents and sending troops into the north.
The rapprochement, brought about with encouragement from Assad's most powerful ally Russia, could reshape the war. But obstacles include the fate of rebel fighters backed by Turkey and that of millions of civilians, many of whom fled to the Turkish border to escape Assad's rule.
The Turkish official described the meeting as "positive."
That echoed a Syrian defense ministry statement issued after the meeting, which was also attended by the Russian defense minister and the Syrian and Turkish intelligence chiefs, who have met repeatedly in recent months.
"It was discussed how the Turkish side can act jointly against terrorist organizations such as (the Kurdish) YPG and Daesh in order to ensure the territorial integrity of Syria and the fight against terrorism," the Turkish official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
"It was discussed how the Turkish side can act jointly against terrorist organizations such as (the Kurdish) YPG and Daesh in order to ensure the territorial integrity of Syria and the fight against terrorism."
Turkish official
"It was emphasized that Turkey's priority is border security."
Badran Jia Kurd, a senior official in the Kurdish-led autonomous administration of northern Syria, said he expected "a new phase of deals and plans ... hostile to the interests of Syrians" to develop from the meetings.
Speaking to Reuters, he expressed concern this would "strike the gains made by our people in northern and eastern Syria."
Turkey has mounted three incursions into northern Syria largely aimed at the Syrian Kurdish group the YPG, which established autonomy over much of the north as the war began in 2011.
Turkey views the YPG as a national security threat because of its ties to the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and has been threatening another incursion since a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul last month.
Both Russia and the United States, which has partnered with the?Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces ?in fighting Islamic State in Syria, have objected to this.
Notwithstanding occasional clashes, the YPG and Damascus have largely stayed out of each other's way during the war and have shared foes, including Turkey-backed groups.
But Damascus opposes Kurdish autonomy demands, and talks for a political settlement have made no progress.
Continuing the dialogue
Turkish-Syrian rapprochement seemed unthinkable earlier in the conflict, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people, drawn in numerous foreign powers, and splintered Syria.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has called Assad a terrorist and said there could be no peace in Syria with him in office, while Assad has called Erdogan a thief for "stealing" Syrian land.
Al-Watan, a pro-Syrian government newspaper, cited sources saying the defense ministers' meeting would not have happened "if matters had not been moving in an acceptable way and according to what Damascus wanted" during previous meetings.
Syrian state news agency SANA, citing its correspondent, said the sides discussed "efforts to combat terrorism, the situation in Syria, and the question of refugees" at the meeting.
The three ministers affirmed "the importance of continuing the joint dialog for the sake of stability of the situation in Syria and the region," SANA added.
The Turkish official also said it was emphasized at the meeting "that immigration from Syria to Turkey was no longer welcome." Turkey hosts at least 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the world's largest refugee population. Public sentiment turned somewhat against the refugees as Turkey's economic woes mounted.
"The first goal will be to build trust. Both sides will be looking for wins," said Huseyin Bagci, professor of international relations at Middle East Technical University, Ankara, calling the meeting "an important step towards normalization."
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