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Palestinian villages 'get two hours of water a week'
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Palestinian villages 'get two hours of water a week'
Israeli control over water supplies in the occupied West Bank has left Palestinians desperate.
Israel implements a policy of water cuts each summer, but this year it reached an unprecedented peak [Eloise Bollack/Al Jazeera]
Ramallah, occupied West Bank - Enas Taha, a resident of the Palestinian village of Kafr al-Deek in the occupied West Bank, has become desperate.
"Since the [water] crisis started in June, the municipality has been able to supply water for only one hour twice a week," Taha told Al Jazeera. "I am checking the weather forecast every day; they announced rain three weeks ago, but it has not come yet. The only thing I can do is to pray to God."
Many West Bank communities are facing similar problems, amid an acute water shortage that has lasted for months. In the Salfit, Jenin and Hebron governorates, some villages have gone as long as 40 days in a row without running water.
In mid-July, residents in the Bethlehem area staged a sit-in for days to protest against the shortages, sparking clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces.
"It is a very stressful situation. I have to consider and prioritise every single drop of water I use," Taha said. "We have barely enough to drink, cook, shower and use the bathroom. Sometimes I don't do the laundry or clean the house for weeks. It is hot and dusty. This is exhausting."
Enas Taha shows her garden, which has turned brown due to the severe water shortages since June [Eloise Bollack/Al Jazeera] |
We have been facing shortages for decades, and the reason is not natural, but man-made - meaning the Israeli occupation and Israeli control over water resources in the Palestinian territories. Deeb Abdelghasoul, PWA's director of the water resources department |
Israel implements a policy of water cuts each summer, but this year, it reached an unprecedented peak. In early June, Israeli water company Mekorot informed the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) of summertime supply cuts totalling more than 50 percent - and the cuts, while not as dramatic, remain in effect today, more than a month after the official end of summer.
"We are in regular contact with [Mekorot] to find a solution, but they constantly give us different excuses, such as the increase in demand, rising temperature, etc," Deeb Abdelghafour, the PWA's director of the water resources department, told Al Jazeera.
The notion that the region is suffering from water scarcity is a myth, he added: "We have been facing shortages for decades, and the reason is not natural, but man-made - meaning the Israeli occupation and Israeli control over water resources in the Palestinian territories."
READ MORE: Israel - Water as a tool to dominate Palestinians
Israeli officials have stated that water resources are shared equally in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, a unit in the Israeli army, noted that Israel provides 64 million cubic metres of water to the Palestinians annually, even though it is only obliged to provide 30 million under the Oslo accords.
However, disparity is evident in the lush gardens, parks and swimming pools in illegal Israeli settlements. The key difference is that Palestinian villages in the West Bank are not connected to the national water grid, relying instead on local underground supplies.
Palestinians living in remote areas have been hit the hardest by the ongoing water crisis, as access roads are often poor and the additional costs of delivery result in higher prices.
"We need special 4x4 trucks to drive on the unpaved roads, and it can take up to two hours to reach the communities," said Hafez Hureini, a resident of at-Tuwani village and leader of the South Hebron Hills Popular Committee.
Taha shows her empty beehives: 'Last year, we had bees so we could produce our own honey, but all the bees died due to lack of water; there are not enough flowers' [Eloise Bollack/Al Jazeera] |
Over the summer, Israeli media reported that illegal Jewish settlements in the West Bank were also suffering from daily disruptions to water supplies, prompting the Israeli government to establish a new drilling site, Ariel 1, which would provide 250 cubic metres of water per hour.
Abdelrahman Tamimi, director of the Palestinian Hydrology Group for Water and Environmental Resources Development, said that this was not where water was needed the most.
"The wells should be drilled where there is important demand, such as north and south of Jenin, south of Hebron, or northwest of the Jordan valley. Why in Ariel, I wonder, as a hydrologist? There is already a well there; they can simply improve its capacity … [This measure] was definitely not designed to supply Palestinian communities," Tamimi told Al Jazeera.
"We are aware there is water theft … However, we should ask ourselves why are the people stealing water? Simply because they are thirsty," Abdelghafour said.
At the same time, increased water demands owing to growing Israeli and Palestinian populations is stretching the limits of existing water infrastructure. Most of the water network was installed in 1967, when Israel occupied the West Bank. Today, the diameters of the pipes are inadequate, and the system is reaching the end of its life cycle.
"Even to upgrade infrastructure in Area A and B is a headache," Abdelghafour said. "They [Israel] impose long and complicated procedures in order to issue permits to import the smallest pieces or equipment."
Data released by the Israeli Water Authority shows that a large expansion in agriculture in the settlements has led to an estimated rise of 20 to 40 percent in water consumption this year.
"The [Palestinian Authority] has no solution for the water crisis. In my opinion, Israel has used this summer to put more pressure on us to purchase desalinated water, so they can allocate groundwater for the settlements and their future expansion," Tamimi said.
Since 2005, five desalination plants have been built in Israel, now producing approximately 50 percent of the country's water supply.
"We don't want to substitute water from desalination plants for our historical rights to all shared water resources," Abdelghafour said. "Once we have our basic rights, based on equitable allocation of resources and international law, then we can think of other development options, such as desalination or treatment of waste water."
Source: Al Jazeera News
Ponee- Admin
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Re: Palestinian villages 'get two hours of water a week'
This is so horrible!
roxy22222222- GURU HUNTER
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Join date : 2015-04-20
Re: Palestinian villages 'get two hours of water a week'
In all fairness, here is an article from a news source that does NOT have a long standing Anti-Israeli policy. (Al-Jazzera is funded by the royal family of Qatar, and is considered by many to be their official propaganda mouthpiece. That is disputed by them, but what is indisputable is their Pro Hamas/PLO anti-American/Israeli bias.)
Israel Admits Cutting West Bank Water Supply, but Blames Palestinian Authority
Israel says region's intense heatwave combined with Palestinian Water Authority's refusal to approve additional infrastructure had led to 'old and limited pipes being unable to transfer all the water needed.'
Amira Hass Jun 21, 2016 9:40 AM
Since the start of this month, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been suffering the harsh effects of a drastic cut in the water supplied them by Israel’s Mekorot water company.
In the Salfit region of the West Bank and in three villages east of Nablus, homes have had no running water for more than two weeks. Factories there have been shut down, gardens and plant nurseries have been ruined and animals have died of thirst or been sold to farmers outside the affected areas.
People have been improvising by drawing water from agricultural wells, or by buying mineral water or paying for water brought in large tankers for household use and to water their livestock. But purchasing water that way is extremely expensive.
Palestinian Water Authority officials told Haaretz that people at Mekorot have told them the supply cuts were going to last the entire summer. The sources said they were told by the Israelis that there is a water shortage and that everything must be done to assure that the local reservoirs (located in the settlements) stay full so that the necessary pressure can be maintained to stream the water through the pipelines leading to other settlements and Palestinian communities.
Palestinian municipal officials say that Palestinian workers for the Civil Administration who are sent to regulate the quantities of water in the Mekorot pipes told them the water cuts were made to meet the area settlements’ demand for water, which is rising in the hot weather. Similar cuts were initiated in the same areas last year, when the severe water supply interruptions also occurred during Ramadan.
Mekorot would not answer questions, referring Haaretz to the Israel Water Authority and the Foreign Ministry. Uri Schor, the Water Authority spokesman, wrote that the quantities of water Israel sells to the Palestinians throughout the West Bank, including in the Salfit area, has gone up over the years.
“A localized water shortage has developed for Israelis and Palestinians alike in northern Samaria and it stems from the especially high consumption because of the region’s intense heat,” Schor wrote. He added that the shortage developed because the Palestinian Water Authority is refusing to approve additional water infrastructure in the West Bank through the joint water committee, “which has led to the old and limited pipes being unable to transfer all the water needed in the region.”
An Israeli security source said settlements are also complaining about water shortages.
A senior Palestinian Water Authority official denied that Palestinian foot-dragging was contributing to the water shortages.
“The Israeli Authority is misleading the public,” he said. “The pipes do not need to be upgraded. USAID, for example, just finished the new pipeline in Deir Sha’ar to serve the population in Hebron and Bethlehem. Israel needs to increase the pumping rate from the Deir Sha’ar pumping station and more than half a million Palestinian would receive their equitable share.
“Israel, however, submitted a project to increase the size of the pipe serving Israeli settlements in the Tekoa area, and the Israel Water Authority is blackmailing the Palestinian Authority to approve the Israeli project in exchange for increasing the water from the Deir Sha’ar booster station.”
Schor brought examples from the months of January-May over the past four years that show that there has indeed been an increase in the quantities of water supplied to the Salfit and Nablus districts, from 2.7 million cubic meters of water in 2013 to 3.48 cubic meters this year.
But the internal records of the Palestinian Water Authority show that in May of this year there was a cut in the water supplied to the town of Bidya, with 12,000 residents, from 50,470 cubic meters in March, to 43,440 in May. In May of last year, Bidya received 45,000 cubic meters.
In the town Qarawat Bani Hassan, consumption in May was higher than in March (17,000 cubic meters compared to 15,000), but last May consumption reached 20,000 cubic meters, and according to a Palestinian official there’s no way to explain the drop in usage other than by a drop in supply. The supply cut in June, meanwhile, has been much sharper – of up to 50 percent per hour.
The Oslo Accords, which were meant to remain in effect until 1999, preserved Israeli control over the West Bank’s water sources and discriminates in how the water is divided. Under the agreements, Israel gets 80 percent of the water from the West Bank mountain aquifer, while the rest goes to the Palestinians. The agreement also sets no limit on the amount of water Israel can take, but limits the Palestinians to 118 million cubic meters from the wells that existed prior to the accords, and another 70 million to 80 million cubic meters from new drilling.
For various technical reasons and unexpected drilling failures in the eastern basin of the aquifer (the only place the agreement allows the Palestinians to drill), in practice the Palestinians produce less water than the agreements set. According to B’Tselem, as of 2014 the Palestinians are only getting 14 percent of the aquifer’s water. That is also why Mekorot is selling the Palestinians double the amount of water stipulated in the Oslo agreement – 64 million cubic meters, as opposed to 31 million.
The Coordinator for Government Activity in the Territories said, “As a result of increased water consumption in the summer, it’s necessary to manage and regulate the flow to enable the highest possible supply to all the populations. Given the problem, the head of the Civil Administration has approved an emergency regulation to operate the Ariel 1 drill rig to increase the amounts of water to residents of northern Samaria, with an emphasis on the Salfit area; another 5,000 cubic meters of water per hour was also approved for the southern Hebron Hills.”
The coordinator also noted that the Civil Administration has to battle theft from water lines that lead to Palestinian communities. Just yesterday, it said, it had discovered two thefts of water from a pipeline that supplies the Salfit area.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.726132
Israel Admits Cutting West Bank Water Supply, but Blames Palestinian Authority
Israel says region's intense heatwave combined with Palestinian Water Authority's refusal to approve additional infrastructure had led to 'old and limited pipes being unable to transfer all the water needed.'
Amira Hass Jun 21, 2016 9:40 AM
Since the start of this month, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been suffering the harsh effects of a drastic cut in the water supplied them by Israel’s Mekorot water company.
In the Salfit region of the West Bank and in three villages east of Nablus, homes have had no running water for more than two weeks. Factories there have been shut down, gardens and plant nurseries have been ruined and animals have died of thirst or been sold to farmers outside the affected areas.
People have been improvising by drawing water from agricultural wells, or by buying mineral water or paying for water brought in large tankers for household use and to water their livestock. But purchasing water that way is extremely expensive.
Palestinian Water Authority officials told Haaretz that people at Mekorot have told them the supply cuts were going to last the entire summer. The sources said they were told by the Israelis that there is a water shortage and that everything must be done to assure that the local reservoirs (located in the settlements) stay full so that the necessary pressure can be maintained to stream the water through the pipelines leading to other settlements and Palestinian communities.
Palestinian municipal officials say that Palestinian workers for the Civil Administration who are sent to regulate the quantities of water in the Mekorot pipes told them the water cuts were made to meet the area settlements’ demand for water, which is rising in the hot weather. Similar cuts were initiated in the same areas last year, when the severe water supply interruptions also occurred during Ramadan.
Mekorot would not answer questions, referring Haaretz to the Israel Water Authority and the Foreign Ministry. Uri Schor, the Water Authority spokesman, wrote that the quantities of water Israel sells to the Palestinians throughout the West Bank, including in the Salfit area, has gone up over the years.
“A localized water shortage has developed for Israelis and Palestinians alike in northern Samaria and it stems from the especially high consumption because of the region’s intense heat,” Schor wrote. He added that the shortage developed because the Palestinian Water Authority is refusing to approve additional water infrastructure in the West Bank through the joint water committee, “which has led to the old and limited pipes being unable to transfer all the water needed in the region.”
An Israeli security source said settlements are also complaining about water shortages.
A senior Palestinian Water Authority official denied that Palestinian foot-dragging was contributing to the water shortages.
“The Israeli Authority is misleading the public,” he said. “The pipes do not need to be upgraded. USAID, for example, just finished the new pipeline in Deir Sha’ar to serve the population in Hebron and Bethlehem. Israel needs to increase the pumping rate from the Deir Sha’ar pumping station and more than half a million Palestinian would receive their equitable share.
“Israel, however, submitted a project to increase the size of the pipe serving Israeli settlements in the Tekoa area, and the Israel Water Authority is blackmailing the Palestinian Authority to approve the Israeli project in exchange for increasing the water from the Deir Sha’ar booster station.”
Schor brought examples from the months of January-May over the past four years that show that there has indeed been an increase in the quantities of water supplied to the Salfit and Nablus districts, from 2.7 million cubic meters of water in 2013 to 3.48 cubic meters this year.
But the internal records of the Palestinian Water Authority show that in May of this year there was a cut in the water supplied to the town of Bidya, with 12,000 residents, from 50,470 cubic meters in March, to 43,440 in May. In May of last year, Bidya received 45,000 cubic meters.
In the town Qarawat Bani Hassan, consumption in May was higher than in March (17,000 cubic meters compared to 15,000), but last May consumption reached 20,000 cubic meters, and according to a Palestinian official there’s no way to explain the drop in usage other than by a drop in supply. The supply cut in June, meanwhile, has been much sharper – of up to 50 percent per hour.
The Oslo Accords, which were meant to remain in effect until 1999, preserved Israeli control over the West Bank’s water sources and discriminates in how the water is divided. Under the agreements, Israel gets 80 percent of the water from the West Bank mountain aquifer, while the rest goes to the Palestinians. The agreement also sets no limit on the amount of water Israel can take, but limits the Palestinians to 118 million cubic meters from the wells that existed prior to the accords, and another 70 million to 80 million cubic meters from new drilling.
For various technical reasons and unexpected drilling failures in the eastern basin of the aquifer (the only place the agreement allows the Palestinians to drill), in practice the Palestinians produce less water than the agreements set. According to B’Tselem, as of 2014 the Palestinians are only getting 14 percent of the aquifer’s water. That is also why Mekorot is selling the Palestinians double the amount of water stipulated in the Oslo agreement – 64 million cubic meters, as opposed to 31 million.
The Coordinator for Government Activity in the Territories said, “As a result of increased water consumption in the summer, it’s necessary to manage and regulate the flow to enable the highest possible supply to all the populations. Given the problem, the head of the Civil Administration has approved an emergency regulation to operate the Ariel 1 drill rig to increase the amounts of water to residents of northern Samaria, with an emphasis on the Salfit area; another 5,000 cubic meters of water per hour was also approved for the southern Hebron Hills.”
The coordinator also noted that the Civil Administration has to battle theft from water lines that lead to Palestinian communities. Just yesterday, it said, it had discovered two thefts of water from a pipeline that supplies the Salfit area.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.726132
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"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."1 Thessalonians 5:14–18
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