RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israel have reached a tentative water-sharing deal with the help of the United States. Though officials expect a final agreement within weeks, some Palestinians worry the pact will give Israel more leverage over them and say they are already entitled to the water.

US Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt recently brokered the deal under which the PA will be able to buy 32 million cubic meters (26,000 acre feet) of water yearly from Israel’s desalination stations in the Mediterranean Sea. The West Bank will receive 22 million cubic meters for 3.3 shekels ($0.92) per cubic meter, and the Gaza Strip will receive 10 million cubic meters for 3.2 shekels per cubic meter. 

The PA and Israel launched talks about the agreement in August 2015, but the latest deal was only reached after the two parties overcame price hurdles, Palestinian Water Authority President Mazen Ghoneim said during a press conference July 18 in Ramallah, which Al-Monitor attended. 

The deal is expected to help alleviate the current water crisis in the Palestinian territories, but it will not solve the problem, Ghoneim said. “The crisis will not be over unless Israel’s occupation ends and we get our water rights in the three underground basins that Israel controls,” he added. Water is one of the issues included in the 1993 Oslo Accord, which said Israel must recognize the water rights of Palestinians.