Ahead of Donald Trump’s trip to Israel this week, a bipartisan group of congressmen and women called upon the president to address the critical situation of cross-border water scarcity and contamination. In a letter written following consultations this March with regional environmental group EcoPeace Middle East, the legislators stressed the idea that “water is an issue of mutual interest” between Israelis and Palestinians and a subject that has “seen great progress in recent months.” Nonetheless, providing safe drinking water to residents of both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and curbing sewage discharge from the latter onto the shores of Israel require immediate international intervention, the parties argued. “In your effort to build peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and to further peace negotiations between their leadership, we urge you to prioritize the issue of water,” the letter said. The letter, which was sent to the president last week, was drafted by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Ted Poe (R-Texas), William Keating (D-Massachusetts), Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana), Gerald Connolly (D-Virginia), Tom Marino (R-Pennsylvania), Grace Meng (D-New York), Blake Farenthold (R-Texas), John Conyers Jr. (D-Michigan) and Dave Reichert (R-Washington). “Any US strategy for Middle East peace must deal with water insecurity in Gaza and the West Bank,” Blumenauer said. “We…