Water shortages hit Palestinians, provoking war of words
HEBRON: At the peak of a searing normally costs four shekels (about $1) summer, Palestinians living in parts per cubic metre, but now it costs 50 of the Israeli-occupied West Bank are shekels.” suffering from severe water shortages, Israeli settlements are scattered on prompting a war of words between hillsides all around Masafer Yatta, a Palestinian and Israeli officials over low-stone village on dry, rocky land. who is responsible. The settlements, with gardens and
The Palestinians say Israel is greenery, receive water from the Israeli preventing them from accessing utility provider via dedicated pipelines. adequate water at an affordable price, Younis said there was water in and point out that nearby Israeli the ground near his village, home settlements have plentiful water to around 1,600 people and many supplies. Israel says the Palestinians animals. But he said Israeli authorities have been allocated double the amount prevented villagers from accessing the they were due under an interim 1995 water by denying them permits to dig. agreement, and have refused to discuss Israel says unregulated digging of wells solutions to the current problem. would do severe damage to the water
For Palestinian Nidal Younis,table.the head of the Masafer Yatta village The villagers have approached the council near Hebron, in the south of Palestinian Water Authority, which the West Bank, getting hold of water said it had made appeals to the Israelis, has become prohibitively expensive. but the requests were apparently
“The cost of a cubic metre for unanswered. residents is 12 times higher than the Israel’s Coordinator of Government normal price,” he said, shaking his Activities in the Territories, a branch head. “When water is available, it of the military that administers Palestinian civil issues, said Israel provides 64 million cubic metres of water to the Palestinians annually, even though under the 1995 Oslo accords it is only obliged to provide 30 million.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said the Palestinians had consistently refused to meet to discuss water issues or work to resolve the long-standing problem.
“The Palestinian allegations... are simply a lie,” he said. “Under the Oslo accords we agreed to establish together a joint working committee on water. Unfortunately, the Palestinian side has refused systematically to participate.”
He added that the water needs in the West Bank, which the Palestinians want for a state together with East Jerusalem and Gaza, are greater than the infrastructure can handle.
Mazen Ghuneim, head of Palestinian Water Authority, the Palestinians had halted the said water negotiations with Israel five years ago because Israel had not frozen settlement building. The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), which is working with the Palestinian Authority and Italian aid agency GVC to provide water to impoverished areas, has warned that up to 35,000 Palestinians are at risk because of the shortages.
Gregor von Medeazza, the head of Unicef ’s water programme, said Israel had prevented villagers from building water-retention facilities and that 33 such structures had been demolished this year because they were built without permits.
Palestinians living furthest from urban areas have been the hardest hit, he said, often having to pay large sums to get private companies to truck water to their villages.
Some Israeli settlers have grown concerned about the lack of water available for Palestinians.
For Palestinian Nidal Younis, the head of the Masafer Yatta village council near Hebron, in the south of the West Bank, getting hold of water has become prohibitively expensive