Israeli desalination firm operates secretly in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Pakistan

The Israeli desalination company IDE Technologies has been conducting covert, large-scale projects in countries that do not maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, the Israeli business news outlet Calcalist reported on Sunday. The company reportedly used a Swiss front business to circumvent official boycotts in Arab and Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Pakistan.

IDE Technologies specializes in developing, designing, constructing, and operating desalination plants worldwide. By concealing its Israeli identity behind the front company, IDE was able to provide critical water solutions to these nations, all of which face severe water stress due to limited natural resources, arid climates, and growing populations.

Around 50% of the world’s desalination market is reportedly concentrated in the Middle East and the North Africa region, where the majority of the countries still do not have diplomatic relations with Israel. It was IDE’s Chief Executive Avshalom Felber who led the effort to create a “white label” structure that created access to Arab and Muslim markets that would have otherwise been closed to an Israeli company. IDE also conducted projects in Afghanistan, Yemen, Oman, Qatar and Algeria.

Prior to the Abraham Accords in 2020, the company also carried out covert desalination projects in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, countries that today enjoy full diplomatic relations with Israel. 

Through its front company, the IDE reportedly signed multimillion dollar contracts with for instance the Saudi Red Sea desalination project, one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East region. 

The IDE’s business dealings in the Middle East and North Africa reportedly led to a legal dispute with the Swiss company Swiss Water.

“Like many multinational Israeli companies, IDE operates in international markets according to the strictest standards,” the IDE Technologies said in an official statement. 

The company admitted its business disagreement with Swiss Water and noted that it is being arbitrated in the United Kingdom. 

“We note that the Swiss company is on the verge of insolvency and has filed a baseless counterclaim. The allegations in their filing are entirely false — mere claims intended to exert illegitimate pressure to obtain funds to which they are not entitled,” the IDE argued. 

“We are also aware that certain interested parties in Israel are cooperating with the Swiss side, including financing of the claim by the Mor investment house, all with the aim of undermining IDE’s chances in future desalination tenders,” the company added. 

The Israeli attorneys Gideon Even-Or of AYR Law Firm and Yossi Haezrachi of Yossi Haezrachi & Co responded on behalf of their client Swiss Water.

“It is strange that the first thing IDE chose to do after receiving our arbitration notice was to run the case through the press. Given IDE’s conduct, which has trampled on our client’s rights, we will continue to assert our claims before the proper authorities, not through the media,” they stated. 

Located in a largely arid region with scarce water resources, Israel has emerged as a world leader in desalination technologies and water preservation. 

In January 2021, merely months after the historic Abraham Accords, the Israeli water company Mekorot was negotiating to sign a preliminary water technology agreement with Bahrain concerning the delivery of water desalination technology to the arid Gulf state.