Water and energy for the Middle East: currency for peace

Abstract

Purpose -The objective of this article is to propose the use of nuclear power to provide electricity and wide-scale desalination to meet future population growth in Israel and a Palestinian State.Design/methodology/approach -The extent of future water and power shortages in Israel and a Palestinian States expounded in the article and various methods for alleviating these shortages are explored. Comparisons are made with historical approaches.Findings -Nuclear pebble-bed technology is found to be the most cost-effective way to energize future water and power needs. It is safe, non-polluting, and terrorist resistant.Originality/value -This article makes the case that abundant water and power in the Middle East is both a pre-requisite and a stimulant for peace in the region.

Speculation on the long‐term future of Israel and a Palestinian state

“…Although a variety of nuclear reactor designs are suitable, we speculate that the ''pebble bed'' modular configuration will be used for the MEU (see Schaffer, 2005Schaffer, , 2007. It possesses inherent operating safety, is highly resistant to terrorist attack, and has essentially solved the waste disposal problem associated with other nuclear reactor designs.…”