Israel reconsiders plan to buy water from Turkey

Officials of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), established to help alleviate the national water shortage, discussed the feasibility of importing water from Turkey.

Turkey and Israel had previously agreed on shipping fresh water from Turkey to Israel --via either a pipeline or tankers-- but the project was shelved after it was assessed as too costly and non-operable.

The JNF is in talks with the governments from both parties, as well as Israeli companies, to revive the idea of carrying Turkish water to Israel, said Russell Robinson, an official from the Fund.

Israeli officials believe that it is almost impossible to find investors for projects to desalinate sea water amid the global financial downturn. JNF officials said water imports would be a feasible alternative.

Before recent rainfall since the beginning of March, analyst had said the Israel could face the worst water crisis in 80 years due to a dry winter.