With the support of the EU, EcoPeace Have prepared a set of concept documents relating to the urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza, alongside EcoPeace’s analysis of alternative infrastructure models in desalination, energy, and humanitarian assistance.

Project’s Concept Notes Review

Concept Note 1: WASH focused humanitarian assistance for the Gaza Strip

Goal: This concept note focuses on immediate WASH focused humanitarian assistance for the Gaza Strip, aiming to promote immediate humanitarian assistance helping prevent public health, economic, and environmental catastrophes for all parties involved.

Proposed immediate scalable pilot projects:

• Small local wells – with an hourly capacity of 60 cubic meters.
• Mobile desalination units – with a daily capacity of 50-120 cubic meters.
• Water trucking support – through establishment of water trucking fleet
• Entry of drinking water containers, mobile toilets and Hygiene & Disinfection kits
• Build Water Resilience in North Gaza – desalination facilities and interim ‘Mekorot’ connection from Zikim/Erez.

Collaborative solutions and EcoPeace proposed coordinative role:

The concept note proposes coordination mechanisms that could support the immediate WASH needs in Gaza through support of entry requests utilizing EcoPeace Advocacy partners, and through the creation of safe storage sites with the WASH sites located within the border buffer zone, making it less vulnerable to be targeted and allowing the storage of needed WASH equipment.

Concept Note 2: Gaza-West Bank recovery through Jordan-West Bank-Israel humanitarian and economic corridor

Goal: This concept note focuses on establishing a new corridor to support humanitarian and economic development for both Gaza and the West Bank. The opening of a new corridor aims to increase delivery of goods to Gaza by creating direct coordination between Israel, Jordan, and Palestine and to strengthen the West Bank economy as a source of goods supply and start to move in parallel both humanitarian assistance and economic recovery for both Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.

The corridor technicalities: The study by EcoPeace’s expert team concludes, based on detailed assessments and consultations with stakeholders, that over 5,500 truckloads will be required daily to address immediate post-conflict needs. This includes shipments of food, medical supplies, construction materials, and industrial inputs to support rebuilding efforts in Gaza and revitalize the economy in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jordan. Delivering the projected aid and trade volumes to Gaza requires a combination of ground, maritime, and air routes, each tailored to specific logistical and operational needs. The corridor would also demand the construction of supportive logistic hubs in North Gaza (proposed to be the central logistic hub inside the Gaza Strip), South Gaza, and a logistic hub in the West Bank near Jericho (supporting goods delivery from Jordan and the West Bank).

Needed upgrade of existing infrastructure: The study points out that a main bottleneck for the realization of the corridor is the capacity of all involved border crossings (Jordan-West Bank, Jordan-Israel, West Bank-Israel, and Israel-Gaza Strip). Hence, its capacity needs to be increased through the upgrade of scanning capability and crossing capacity. Creation of new delivery mechanisms are necessary to allow a faster flow of goods (mainly through the creation of door-to-door mechanisms that satisfy Israeli security demands). Lastly, the report emphasizes the importance of installing refrigerated storage units at key crossings including King Hussein Bridge (Allenby) and Rafah to support the transport of sensitive cargo such as medical supplies and agricultural products.

Concept Note 3: ‘Day after’ WASH infrastructure strategy for the Gaza Strip

Goal: This concept note focuses on a strategy for the ‘day after’ governance and recovery of the WASH sector in the Gaza Strip, aiming to achieve fast-track reconstruction and to avoid external displacement. 

Governance Scenarios and their Implications for WASH Sector Recovery: 

The success of Gaza’s WASH sector recovery is heavily dependent on the governance model that emerges in the aftermath of the conflict. Given Gaza’s political fragmentation and the uncertainty surrounding future governance, the WASH recovery must align with one of the potential governance scenarios:

• Scenario 1 – Palestinian Authority Led Governance: While a PA-led governance offers the greatest potential for coordination and financial support from the international community, it also faces significant political and security challenges (by Israel) that could delay or obstruct progress.
• Scenario 2 – Israeli Full Occupation: Although Israel would be legally required to restore WASH services, its reluctance to take full responsibility for Gaza’s recovery could leave much of the burden on humanitarian organizations and international donors. The effectiveness of this scenario would depend on Israel’s willingness to meet its legal obligations and the extent of international pressure.
• Scenario 3 – A Mixed Governance Model with International Oversight: Despite the benefits of international involvement, this model could face significant operational challenges. A mixed governance structure may struggle with internal political fragmentation, as competing factions such as Hamas, the PA and other local actors, could undermine cohesion and slow down decision-making processes. Coordination with Israel for the importation of construction materials may also be difficult, as Israeli approval would still be necessary for many key components.
  
  

Life-saving urgent short term, mid-term, and long term interventions for Gaza’s WASH Sector:

• Short term – as described in Concept Note 1
• Early Recovery – restoring water and sewage infrastructure through a survey of the facilities status, and the recovery and introduction of fuel generators to allow interim energy supply for operations. Based on these efforts, a larger scale recovery can commence through larger facilities including municipal storage hubs and recovery of distribution networks. 
• Long term – rehabilitation and expansion of critical infrastructure, including water treatment plants, sewage treatment plants, and renewable energy facilities. A key component of long-term resilience planning involves small-scale interventions that can later be scaled into full programs.
• Energy supply through enhanced energy import from Egypt and Jordan (Prosperity Green).
• A large scale desalination plant in Gaza – to be further discussed in Concept Note 4.
  
  

Concept Note 4: Region-wide water-energy nexus (WEN)

Goal: This concept note focuses on the need to create region wide climate resilience, through relaunching the Regional Water and Energy Nexus (later known as “Project Prosperity, promoted bilaterally by the governments of Jordan and Israel) in the original design of EcoPeace, that includes Palestinian and Israeli import of renewables from Jordan and Israeli and Palestinian (Gaza) export of desalinated water to Jordan.

Post-war opportunities: Reviving a region-wide water-energy nexus:

• Constructing a 200 MCM desalination plant in the Gaza Strip:

• • The original proposal of EcoPeace under the WEN initiative of 2017 included the construction of a large-scale desalination plant in Gaza with a 200 MCM annual capacity.
  • In July 2025, a study initially analyzing the feasibility of the construction of such a large scale desalination plant in Gaza was completed by a team of two expert consultants hired by EcoPeace.
  • The study estimates projected capital expenditures (CAPEX) of between US $1.1-1.6 billion, with an annual operating cost (OPEX) ranging from US $127-221 million. Water costs rise per cubic meter proportionally when the distance from the plant is increased; this results in higher delivery expenses for Jordan and the West Bank.
  • To attract investors, the project addresses risks such as conflict-related disruptions, weak cost recovery, and poor credit ratings. To address these, the project recommends a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) structure, including a Trust Fund Steering Committee and a Program Management Body to oversee financing, procurement, and operations. This model would secure an external Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contractor to ensure quality, efficiency, and accountability.
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• Promoting a Palestinian-Israeli-Jordanian WEN agreement:

• • Based on the progress made bilaterally between Jordan and Israel, EcoPeace would advocate for signing a broader agreement between Jordan, Palestine, and Israel. This should include a broader export of renewable energy from Jordan to Palestine, as broadly elaborated in Concept Note 5; and the export of desalinated water from Gaza to the West Bank and Jordan, as described above.
    
    

• Expanding regional forums to focus on water and energy:

• • The signing of the proposed WEN agreement, alongside the above-mentioned regional challenges the climate crisis creates, emphasizes the need for a regional forum to discuss issues that relate to climate resilience—such as energy, but also broader issues of water, health, biodiversity, economy, and security.
  • EcoPeace calls to extend the mandate of the EMGF, making it a regional platform for discussion on efforts to expand the water-energy nexus into a region-wide effort to build stronger climate resilience in the region.
    
    
    

Concept Note 5: Advancing climate resilience in Palestine by transitioning the Palestinian energy sector towards sustainability and promoting Area C solar projects

Goal: This concept note aims to outline the political and technical context and bottlenecks for promoting a Palestinian transition into a more sustainable and less dependent energy sector, by diversifying sources of energy through promotion of the construction of PV projects in Area C of the West Bank, through expansion of purchase of renewables from Jordan, and through the construction of a unified Palestinian transmission backbone connecting various parts of the West Bank and allowing wheeling of energy to the Gaza strip. This concept note also proposes relevant pilot projects that prove the feasibility and necessity of the ideas presented in this note.

Main solutions for promoting Palestinian transition to a sustainable and less dependent energy sector:

Utilizing lands in Area C for Palestinian energy needs: 

• The energy sector is regulated by a mix of Palestinian and Israeli bodies with oversight mechanisms established through the Oslo Accords that emphasize cooperation but often lead to delays and limitations on infrastructure development. In both sectors, energy and water, resource dependency on Israel remains a critical issue, affecting access, pricing, and overall stability.
• To allow for better collaborative utilization of lands in the West Bank for Palestinian energy needs a new regulatory framework must be drafted. An agreement should recognize that Area C is the main source of potential vacant lands that can be utilized for energy infrastructure projects (production, transmission, and distribution). The proposed agreement should define PENRA as an entity with a distinct status allowing it to initiate projects within Area C in a separate channel, rather than the common planning and construction committees.
• In order to facilitate PENRA led projects in Area C, as long as Israel holds civilian control over Area C, EcoPeace proposes to establish a joint energy committee. Such a committee would be a platform for regulatory coordination of the relevant Palestinian and Israeli authorities and would help bridging barriers regarding the construction of the proposed infrastructure projects.
• In the meantime, in order to prove the feasibility of Palestinian solar projects in Area C, projects in lands with clear legal ownership should be prioritized to avoid delays, expanding micro-grids and community-based solar systems such as the Tubas battery project, and integrating storage solutions where possible. Various Palestinian stakeholders suggested to promote a Palestinian Establish a Green Finance Facility and pass supportive legislation on storage, tariffs, and grid access to attract private sector investment.

Expanding the purchase of renewables from Jordan

• Jordan currently exports electricity to the Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JEDCo) in the West Bank through a 132 kV transmission line, which is temporarily operated at 33 kV due to infrastructure limitations. This line, connected at the Al Rama Substation, has a capacity of 80 MW, with total exports reaching 194 GWh in 2023.
• To expand energy imports and support future renewable energy projects for the West Bank and Gaza, it is crucial to develop a high-voltage (HV) interconnection at 132 kV or preferably 400 kV. According to EcoPeace’s consultancy team, the estimated investment needed for a 400 kV grid connection between Jordan and the West Bank, including a substation and 2 km transmission line, is 5,000,000 USD.
• The purchase could be done directly from Jordan’s Electric Power Company (NEPCO) and the Jordanian national grid (not necessarily from renewable sources); or from an Independent Power Producer (IPP) renewable energy projects in Jordan, connected to the Jordanian national grid. This project should focus on renewable energy projects and transmit electricity to the West Bank and Gaza through a wheeling agreement; or through establishing a dedicated renewable energy project in the Jordanian part of the Jordan Valley, designed specifically to supply the West Bank and Gaza.

Unifying the Palestinian electricity network with a backbone transmission line connecting the West Bank and wheeling to the Gaza Strip

• One of the primary constraints limiting the feasibility of future renewable energy projects in Area C, as well as of export of electricity from Jordan to the West Bank—and consequently to Gaza, is the lack of a high-voltage (HV) transmission line within the West Bank. Without such infrastructure, the current transmission system operates at a lower voltage, restricting the amount of electricity supplied to the Palestinian grid.
• A 132 kV transmission line (twin conductor double circuit), running from the north to the south of the West Bank. This line would facilitate internal electricity distribution within the West Bank and provide the infrastructure needed for future energy projects.
• Initial calculations of EcoPeace’s consultancy team estimate that a 200 km 132 kV double circuit transmission line costs approximately 75,000,000 USD. Each of the six proposed 132/33 kV substations, equipped with five outdoor cells and two 80 MVA 132/33 kV transformers, is estimated at 6,000,000 USD (36,000,000 USD for six substations).