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This book is the result of a joint research effort led by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and involving the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and the Palestine Health Council. It discusses opportunities for enhancement of water supplies and avoidance of overexploitation of water resources in the Middle East. Based on the concept that ecosystem goods and services are essential to maintaining water quality and quantity, the book emphasizes conservation, improved use of current technologies, and water management approaches that are compatible with environmental quality.

The acute water and electricity shortages in Gaza necessitate comprehensive solutions that recognize the interconnected nature of these vital resources. This article presents pragmatic solutions to align supply with fundamental needs in both domains, offering viable pathways for achieving strategic water‐energy security in Gaza. Baseline data reveals a deficit in the current water supply, falling below the international minimum of 100 L per capita per day, while the reported 137–189 MW per day electricity supply significantly lags behind the estimated 390 MW per day peak demand. To meet projected 2024 residential, commercial, and industrial demands, this study proposes actionable measures including expanding wastewater treatment to enable over 150 MCM per year tertiary effluents for agricultural reuse and adopting energy‐efficient forward osmosis‐reverse osmosis and osmotically assisted reverse osmosis desalination methods to increase potable water supply to 150 MCM per year. Electricity supply strategies include scaling renewable capacity towards 110 MW per day, exploring regional cooperation to unlock over 360 MW of power per day, and potentially recovering up to 60 MW per day through system efficiencies. These recommendations aim to prevent exacerbated scarcity and alleviate hardships in Gaza. This article introduces forward‐looking solutions for Gaza's water and energy future. Following a data‐diven systems approach, the study analyzes both current and anticipated water and energy requirements, while assessing the feasibility of diverse supply alternatives. The insights significantly contribute to the understanding of the water‐energy nexus for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners engaged in the domains of enery and water resource management.

Donors, development agencies, and international non-governmental organizations are currently shaping a large part of the development and humanitarian agenda of sustainable developmen, especially regarding the first and second Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to ending poverty and hunger worldwide. Thus, an increasing number of development interventions are aimed at protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for everyone by strengthening the resilience of vulnerable households and communities. The research implemented a quantitative methodology approach that relied on distributing a survey based on the research variables. Data were collected in both the Gaza Strip and Hungary using google forms over a sample of 700 respondents, however, only 616 respondents filled out the survey. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS statistical tool to research the impact of no poverty and zero hunger on economic empowerment and how resource access mediates this relationship. The research results were reported using descriptive and regression analysis, while mediation analysis was based on the method of Barron and Kenney. Most of the world's poor live in rural regions, and if we want to help them, we need to concentrate on developing agriculture in a modern and sustainable manner to create employment, increase farmers' incomes and consumption, and decrease food costs. Governments need to learn more about their strengths and challenges to aid communities in expanding. While primary agriculture may provide a viable income for those living in different regions, there is always the potential for diversification. Recognizing and capitalizing on other areas' variety or growth might significantly lower poverty levels. There is an urgent need to address the issue of food security, which requires a renewed commitment from governments, farmers, national policymakers, and international donors.

Purpose This study investigates the impact of senior management’s financial intelligence on the financialperformance of banks and insurance companies operating in the Gaza Strip. Design The study followed the descriptive analytical approach to measure financial performance by relying on the financial reports of the sample companies for 2022. Two primary sources were employed: a questionnaire to collect the financial intelligence data, and it was distributed to a sample of individuals representing the management of companies operating in the Gaza Strip. A total of (67) completed questionnaires were obtained. In addition, secondary data from 11 banks and insurance companies operating in the Gaza Strip was collected to compute the financial performance variables such as returns on investment (ROI), assets (ROA), and equity (ROE). The collected data were then analyzed using SPSS software version 28. Findings The results indicated that the dimensions of financial intelligence were available. Banks and insurance companies have good financial performance. Furthermore, financial intelligence (understanding beyond the numbers, understanding financial analysis, and grasping the overall financial picture) significantly affected the performance of banks and insurance companies, as measured by ROI and ROA. The dimensions of financial intelligence (mastering financial and monetary skills, understanding financial analysis, and grasping the overall financial picture) also significantly impacted the performance of banks and insurance companies as measured by ROE. Simultaneously, there was no significant effect of financial intelligence (mastering financial and monetary skills) on the performance of banks and insurance companies as measured by ROI and ROA. Furthermore, there was no significant effect of financial intelligence (understanding beyond the numbers) on the performance of banks and insurance companies as measured by ROE. Originality To the best of the author’s knowledge, the current study is among the first research efforts in Palestine. Practical implications The findings indicate that senior management should pay greater attention to developing financial intelligence skills among employees in supervisory positions, especially those in the administrative, financial, and planning fields, due to their impact on improving companies’ performance.

Assessment of groundwater quality at a specific location is an important step to provide adequate information about water management and sustainable development. Several variables affect groundwater salinity, expressed by chloride concentration, prediction; therefore, identification of the most significant parameters for accurate prediction is an important research area. In the present study, artificial neural network (ANN) models with various combinations of input parameters were developed to determine the most significant parameters that influence chloride concentration prediction. To achieve this, the variables affecting chloride concentration (recharge rate (RR), abstraction (A), abstraction average rate (AVR), lifetime (LT), groundwater level (GWL), aquifer thickness (AT), depth from the surface to well screen (DSWS), distance from sea shoreline (DSSL)) and climate parameters (total rainfall (R), relative humidity (RH), minimum temperature (Tmin), maximum temperature (Tmax), average temperature (Tavg), average wind speed (W), minimum wind speed (Wmin), and maximum wind speed (Wmax)), in addition to initial chloride concentration (ICC), were considered as input variables. The output variable was the final chloride concentration (FCC). 17 ANN models were developed by varying the identified input parameters. Additionally, the coefficient of determination (R2) and root mean squared error (RMSE) were used to select the best predictive model. The results demonstrate that the ANN 5 model with the combinations of [ICC, RR, A, AVR, LT, GWL, DSWS, AT, DSSL, W] produced excellent estimation in predicting the value of final chloride concentration with reported values of 0.977 and 0.022 for R2 and RMSE respectively. The proposed approach illustrates how the ANN modeling technique can be used to identify the key variables required for the most significant parameters affecting chloride concentration.

The objective of this study is to investigate the factors that impact the economic growth in the Palestinian territories. To attain the study's objective, data were collected from the World Bank DataBank for the period 1996- 2020. While, the results of the data analyses pointed to a positive and significant association between economic growth and education, negative and significant association appeared between economic growth and each of unemployment and inflation. Insignificant positive association appeared between personal remittances and economic growth; whereas, FDI negatively but insignificantly affects economic growth. Despite the high rate of education among the Palestinians, the Palestinian economy will not realize its potential to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) without stopping the implementation of the Paris Protocol and giving the Palestinians the full right to control their natural resources, their land, sea and air crossings, the freedom to trade with the outside world, the right to issue their national currency and the freedom to manage their public finance.

This article addresses the causes of instability and non-sustainability of municipal water and wastewater by the 25 Service Providers (SPs) in the Gaza Strip (GS), Palestine. The analysis of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of municipal water and wastewater SPs in the GS shows a serious deficiency in the administrative, financial, and operational dimensions; such deficiency affects efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The deficiencies include inappropriate planning, lack of comprehensive capacity-building programmes, very high levels of Non-Revenue Water, and distortions in the tariff structures of almost all service providers, where the average selling price per m3 of water was less than the average unit cost of m3 of water sold. Moreover, levels of collection efficiency were very low, which resulted in a serious cash flow problem for the SPs'. The study has found a lack or absence of accurate or completed customer complaint, satisfaction, and inquiry logs; this is clearly reflected in customer behaviour related to reluctance to pay bills and high levels of illegal connections.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the Gaza Strip has suffered regular cycles of reconstruction due to systematic destruction during Israeli military operations, as in 2006, 2008–2009, 2012, and 2014. In this context of ongoing conflict this article aims to identify, rank, and discuss the most important factors influencing post-disaster reconstruction project management (PDRPM) for housing in the Gaza Strip. A set of key factors that influence PDRPM were assembled as a result of a global literature review. A questionnaire survey was conducted, and the obtained data were analyzed using a relative importance index for each PDRPM factor. Findings are presented in six groups: housing approaches, organizational behavior, project funding, supply chain and logistics, communication and coordination, and PDRPM context. Findings indicate that the most significant factors that influence PDRPM for housing provision in the Gaza Strip are related to issues associated with financial resources. It is critical that sufficient funding should be available in order to allow organizations to undertake housing projects in an effective and efficient way. Joint efforts are required from international donors and local organizations in order to effectively manage financial resources with the ultimate goal of improving PDRPM for housing provision.

The building defects are always of great concern for construction industry as they cause delays before handing over and increase maintenance costs during occupancy of the buildings. Due to the rapid development and population growth in Gaza Strip, many residential buildings and housing projects are being constructed in a short space of time, especially after Gaza war in 2014. Therefore, many errors and defects are expected to arise during the construction stage. The aim of this paper is to identify and rank the factors affecting the defects occurrence in the construction stage of the residential buildings in Gaza Strip. A survey was conducted in 134 randomly selected engineers working for engineering offices as design engineers, supervisors and project managers in Gaza Strip. The study revealed five most effective main factors during the construction stage, namely construction materials, factors due to inspections, factors due to construction equipment, factors due to constructions and factors due to construction management, respectively. The most important factors in each group were poor soil compaction, exceeding the allowable limits of verticality of the structural elements, insufficient reinforcement concrete cover, owner’s negligence of inspections, absence of engineer in most of construction phases, using expired material, material or component failure, using corroded or second-hand reinforcement steel, using materials not of acceptable quality and not conforming to the specifications or design and lack of required equipment. This research is the first attempt at identifying factors affecting defect occurrence in the construction stage of residential buildings of the developing countries. The findings will be useful for the construction firms and regulatory bodies to deal with the critical factors affecting defect occurrence and device such policies that improve the design and construction of residential buildings.

Coping with (and adapting to) climatological hazards is commonly understood in intergovernmental and aid agency fora as a purely technical matter. This article examines the UN Development Programme's stakeholder consultations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in order to challenge the donor-driven technical-managerial framing of Palestinian climate vulnerability by showing how Israeli occupation practices exacerbate environmental stresses. While emphasizing the importance of social, economic, and political contexts in shaping populations' responses to climate change in general, the authors demonstrate the multiple ways in which the occupation specifically compounds hazards reveals it as constitutive of Palestinian climate vulnerability.