There are certainly no bounds or lengths to which the Israelis won't go to harass and act illegally and inhumanly in relation to the Palestinians in the West Bank. Now it's what has been dubbed "water-apartheid".
"A new report on Israel's water grab in the occupied West Bank links the widespread deprivation of Palestinian water rights to Israel's settlement expansion strategy, saying both demonstrate "a clear testament to its colonial and apartheid motives."
Published Monday by the Ramallah-based human rights organization Al-Haq, "Water for One People Only: Discriminatory Access and 'Water-Apartheid' in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," (pdf) reports that Israel has claimed up to 89% of an underground aquifer that is largely located in the West Bank, giving Palestinians only access to the remaining 11%.
The water grab has fueled increased discrepancy in water usage in the region with the 500,000 Jewish settlers consuming approximately six times the amount of water used by the 2.6 million Palestinians living in the West Bank—with the discrepancy growing even greater when agricultural water use is accounted for.
“There is a grave injustice in the division of water, and the results have been catastrophic,” Tawfiq Salah, mayor of West Bank village al-Khader, told Al-Monitor.
The report cites a number of efforts—including the continued establishment of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory, the transfer of control of Palestinian water infrastructure to Israel's national water company, 'Mekorot,' and finally the Oslo Accords—all which have effectively diminished Palestinian water rights and granted Israel sweeping authority over the vital resource."
"A new report on Israel's water grab in the occupied West Bank links the widespread deprivation of Palestinian water rights to Israel's settlement expansion strategy, saying both demonstrate "a clear testament to its colonial and apartheid motives."
Published Monday by the Ramallah-based human rights organization Al-Haq, "Water for One People Only: Discriminatory Access and 'Water-Apartheid' in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," (pdf) reports that Israel has claimed up to 89% of an underground aquifer that is largely located in the West Bank, giving Palestinians only access to the remaining 11%.
The water grab has fueled increased discrepancy in water usage in the region with the 500,000 Jewish settlers consuming approximately six times the amount of water used by the 2.6 million Palestinians living in the West Bank—with the discrepancy growing even greater when agricultural water use is accounted for.
“There is a grave injustice in the division of water, and the results have been catastrophic,” Tawfiq Salah, mayor of West Bank village al-Khader, told Al-Monitor.
The report cites a number of efforts—including the continued establishment of Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory, the transfer of control of Palestinian water infrastructure to Israel's national water company, 'Mekorot,' and finally the Oslo Accords—all which have effectively diminished Palestinian water rights and granted Israel sweeping authority over the vital resource."
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