Desalination Shutdown Threatens Israel's Harvest Ahead of Holidays

Israel faces crop losses and food-security risk as most desalination facilities were shut down due to turbid seawater. Authorities are boosting pumping from wells and the Sea of Galilee and have approved two additional desalination plants to keep household water flowing, while the Agriculture Ministry coordinates aid for at-risk farms in the South. The Israel Farmers Federation is demanding immediate government compensation and action as areas like Nitzana could lose tens of thousands of dunams of crops ahead of the High Holy Days. The situation echoes prior State Comptroller warnings about desalination management and cybersecurity readiness, and separate Bedouin-water outages are being addressed with tankers.