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Using stolen water to irrigate stolen land
Published July 16, 2016
Settlers are trying to spin water shortages as a problem that affects both Palestinians and Jews in the same manner. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
By Dror Etkes
The recent reports on water crisis in Palestinian areas of the West Bank were accompanied by a story of another water shortage: this time in Israeli settlements. Let’s get one thing straight — there has never been a “water shortage” in the settlements. When settlers open up the tap at home or in their garden, the amount and quality of the water is identical to that which comes out in most homes to the west of the Green Line. Yes, there were several recent instances in which the water supply was cut off temporarily in a number of settlements (generally for a few hours), during which the authorities provided settlers water from water tanks. One can safely say that not a single settler was left thirsty.
Anyone who has had the opportunity to see how the settlers work the media will not be surprised that the issue made headlines. By exaggerating the water shortage, the settlers hope to achieve two complementary goals: neutralizing criticism of outright discrimination by the the state in everything having to do with the quantity of water sold to Palestinians (which makes up only a small percentage of water in the West Bank, the rest goes to West Bank settlements and Israel), while using the cynical and empty claim that the water shortage affects “both Arabs and Jews.”
The second goal is put pressure on right-wing politicians to approve budgets for establishing new water infrastructure, in order to meet the demand, which will likely skyrocket in the coming years — assuming the number of settlers continues to grow at the current rate (five percent per year, twice as much as the population growth in Israel).
Continued @
http://972mag.com/using-stolen-water-to-irrigate-stolen-land/120653/
Related stories
A West Bank water crisis for Palestinians only By Stephanie Westbrook | November 22, 2014
Visualizing Occupation: Distribution of Water By +972 Resources | July 2, 2012
Israel is pulling the West Bank out from under Palestinian feet By Natasha Roth | September 11, 2015
28 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
The issue of water rights in the West Bank is constantly raised in regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, appearing again and again in public discourse around the world. According to critics of Israel, the Jewish state selfishly exploits the area’s water supplies and denies access to the local population. In doing so, the critics say, Israel is not only abandoning its responsibilities to the West Bank Palestinians, but ruthlessly and illegally abusing the natural resources of the occupied territory. This idea has become extremely widespread in the international media, and was recently voiced from the Knesset plenum by the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, causing a minor scandal in Israel and abroad.
As with all attacks on Israel, the truth is much more complicated and, to a great extent, precisely the opposite of what the critics claim. When one examines the relevant data, it becomes clear that, under Israeli rule, the Palestinian water supply has become larger, more technologically sophisticated, of higher quality, and much easier to access; almost entirely due to Israeli efforts.
The truth is, most of the claims made against Israel on this issue are nothing but empty propaganda. They are based on claims that are simply untrue and/or based on a lack of basic knowledge of the topography of Israel and the West Bank. The latter in particular often creates total confusion in regard to everything connected to the legal issues surrounding West Bank water sources, and especially its important underground aquifers.
To avoid such confusion, this article is largely based on statistics published by the Israeli Water Authority, and research by Professor Haim Gvirtzman, a hydrologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Hopefully, it will give a much more accurate picture of one of the most contentious disputes in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
As with all attacks on Israel, the truth is much more complicated and, to a great extent, precisely the opposite of what the critics claim. When one examines the relevant data, it becomes clear that, under Israeli rule, the Palestinian water supply has become larger, more technologically sophisticated, of higher quality, and much easier to access; almost entirely due to Israeli efforts.
The truth is, most of the claims made against Israel on this issue are nothing but empty propaganda. They are based on claims that are simply untrue and/or based on a lack of basic knowledge of the topography of Israel and the West Bank. The latter in particular often creates total confusion in regard to everything connected to the legal issues surrounding West Bank water sources, and especially its important underground aquifers.
To avoid such confusion, this article is largely based on statistics published by the Israeli Water Authority, and research by Professor Haim Gvirtzman, a hydrologist from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Hopefully, it will give a much more accurate picture of one of the most contentious disputes in the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
MUCH, MUCH more...
http://www.thetower.org/article/the-myth-of-the-thirsty-palestinian/]
Palestinian lies like water
The PA considers water and waste as weapons against Israel, not as areas of cooperation.
It comes back again and again: The canard that Israel is denying West Bank Palestinians water rights negotiated under the Oslo Accords.
Haaretz returns to the issue every once in a while with stories about water supply disruptions in the Palestinian Authority, Israeli confiscation of Palestinian water tanks in the Jordan Valley, or Palestinian Water Authority reports about “disproportionate” water allocations to settlements.
You have to read the fine print to discover that illegal Palestinian tapping into Israel’s water lines and massive Palestinian water wastage are the causes of the problem. You have to study the issue in depth to discover that it is not Israeli “occupation policy” but Palestinian political resistance against joint water management and cooperation that is responsible for the slow development of the Palestinian water sector. The PA considers water and waste as weapons against Israel, not as areas of cooperation with Israel.
For too long, Israel has failed to respond in detail to Palestinian accusations of Israeli “water apartheid” which are ubiquitous in the UN and NGO world. Only recently has the civil administration and the Israel Water Authority, along with one of Israel’s top hydrologists, Prof. Haim Gvirtzman, begun to fight back with properly documented counterclaims.
The newly released studies show clearly that that Israel has fulfilled all of its obligations according to the agreements it signed in 1995 with the Palestinian Authority (and in fact has exceeded them), while the Palestinians are wasting tremendous amounts of water while refusing to utilize modern water conservation or sewage treatment methods.
In an exceptional study (http://besacenter.org/mideast-security- and-policy-studies/the-israelipalestinian- water-conflict-an-israeliperspective- 3-2/>
published by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Gvirtzman shows that large differences in per capita consumption of natural water between Jews and Arabs that existed in 1967, when the administration of Judea and Samaria was handed over from Jordan to Israel, have been reduced over the last 40 years and are now negligible.
MUCH more...
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Palestinian-lies-like-water-319582
The PA considers water and waste as weapons against Israel, not as areas of cooperation.
It comes back again and again: The canard that Israel is denying West Bank Palestinians water rights negotiated under the Oslo Accords.
Haaretz returns to the issue every once in a while with stories about water supply disruptions in the Palestinian Authority, Israeli confiscation of Palestinian water tanks in the Jordan Valley, or Palestinian Water Authority reports about “disproportionate” water allocations to settlements.
You have to read the fine print to discover that illegal Palestinian tapping into Israel’s water lines and massive Palestinian water wastage are the causes of the problem. You have to study the issue in depth to discover that it is not Israeli “occupation policy” but Palestinian political resistance against joint water management and cooperation that is responsible for the slow development of the Palestinian water sector. The PA considers water and waste as weapons against Israel, not as areas of cooperation with Israel.
For too long, Israel has failed to respond in detail to Palestinian accusations of Israeli “water apartheid” which are ubiquitous in the UN and NGO world. Only recently has the civil administration and the Israel Water Authority, along with one of Israel’s top hydrologists, Prof. Haim Gvirtzman, begun to fight back with properly documented counterclaims.
The newly released studies show clearly that that Israel has fulfilled all of its obligations according to the agreements it signed in 1995 with the Palestinian Authority (and in fact has exceeded them), while the Palestinians are wasting tremendous amounts of water while refusing to utilize modern water conservation or sewage treatment methods.
In an exceptional study (http://besacenter.org/mideast-security- and-policy-studies/the-israelipalestinian- water-conflict-an-israeliperspective- 3-2/>
published by the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, Gvirtzman shows that large differences in per capita consumption of natural water between Jews and Arabs that existed in 1967, when the administration of Judea and Samaria was handed over from Jordan to Israel, have been reduced over the last 40 years and are now negligible.
MUCH more...
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Palestinian-lies-like-water-319582
Another anti-Israel water libel: The supposed Ramadan water cut off
Friday, June 17, 2016 at 12:00pm
False media reports turn burst pipe into viral meme with help of anti-Israel activists and “journalists”
...As I describe below, it didn’t take very long for anti-Israel websites and bloggers to pounce on these stories, further spreading the lie. Within just a couple of days, thousands—perhaps even millions—of people were exposed to the nonsense via social media and reports aired on TV:
This is a classic case of how the media’s coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories often diverges into the farcical, offering ludicrous examples of shoddy reporting more akin to “fiction writing than journalism”.
...In a series of emailed responses it received from these agencies within less than 24 hours of the initial requests for information, UK Media Watch learned that the so-called “water shutoff” was only a burst pipe.
http://legalinsurrection.com/2016/06/another-anti-israel-water-libel-the-supposed-ramadan-water-cut-off/
Friday, June 17, 2016 at 12:00pm
False media reports turn burst pipe into viral meme with help of anti-Israel activists and “journalists”
...As I describe below, it didn’t take very long for anti-Israel websites and bloggers to pounce on these stories, further spreading the lie. Within just a couple of days, thousands—perhaps even millions—of people were exposed to the nonsense via social media and reports aired on TV:
This is a classic case of how the media’s coverage of Israel and the Palestinian territories often diverges into the farcical, offering ludicrous examples of shoddy reporting more akin to “fiction writing than journalism”.
...In a series of emailed responses it received from these agencies within less than 24 hours of the initial requests for information, UK Media Watch learned that the so-called “water shutoff” was only a burst pipe.
http://legalinsurrection.com/2016/06/another-anti-israel-water-libel-the-supposed-ramadan-water-cut-off/
Source: B'tselem, 10 Mar 2014
The Oslo Accords perpetuated the discrimination in allocation of water between Israel and the Palestinians. They allotted 80% of the water pumped from the mountain aquifer – one of three underground water reserves shared by Israel and the Palestinians – to Israel and only 20% to the Palestinians. They Accords further established there would be no cap to the supply of water to Israelis, whereas the water supply to Palestinians would be limited to predetermined amounts, namely approximately 118 million cubic meters (mcm) from drilling points active prior to the signing of the Accords and another 70-80 mcm or so from new ones.
At present, Palestinians in the West Bank must purchase from Mekorot (Israel’s national water company) double the amount water specified in the accords, an amount that now equals about one third of available water in the West Bank.
In the absence of a final status arrangement, the Oslo Accords, meant to be valid only for five years, are still in place today. Yet even so, the measures set forth are only partially satisfied: while Israelis receive an unlimited water supply, Palestinians receive only about 75% of the stipulated quota. This situation is the result of several reasons, one being that under the temporary accords, Palestinians were to obtain some 118 mcm from independent drilling points, whereas in practice Palestinians yield only 73% of that amount. They fail to reach the designated amount due to technical limitations of their equipment, the particular properties of the aquifer and its water level, as well as the failure of U.S.- and German-aided attempts to drill for water in the aquifer’s eastern basin. As a result, Israel gets 86% of the aquifer’s water and the Palestinians only 14%. Even though Israel’s national water company Mekorot currently sells Palestinians 53 mcm of water a year – twice the amount stipulated in the Oslo Accords – it is a far cry from meeting demand.
Due to the inequitable distribution, Palestinians must make do with less water than Israelis. The World Health Organization and USAID both recommend a minimum of 100 liters of water per person/per day. This amount includes is not only for domestic use but includes supply to hospitals, schools, businesses, and other public institutions. Palestinian average daily consumption of water is about a third less than the recommended amount. The figures on water allocation make the discrimination between Israelis and Palestinians patently palpable:
Average water consumption in the West Bank for domestic, urban, and industrial purposes is approximately 73 liters per person/per day. In the northern West Bank average consumption is even lower. According to 2011 figures, a mere 38 liters in the Jenin area and 52 liters in the Tubas area.
Average water consumption in Israel is much higher. According to the Israeli Water Authority, average consumption is 183 liters per person/per day– more than twice the corresponding consumption in the West Bank. The lack of water in certain areas of the West Bank is exacerbated by Palestinian farmers’ illegal tapping into pipes supplying water to Palestinian villages. This occurs primarily in Area C, where Israel is directly responsible for law enforcement.
At present, Palestinians in the West Bank must purchase from Mekorot (Israel’s national water company) double the amount water specified in the accords, an amount that now equals about one third of available water in the West Bank.
In the absence of a final status arrangement, the Oslo Accords, meant to be valid only for five years, are still in place today. Yet even so, the measures set forth are only partially satisfied: while Israelis receive an unlimited water supply, Palestinians receive only about 75% of the stipulated quota. This situation is the result of several reasons, one being that under the temporary accords, Palestinians were to obtain some 118 mcm from independent drilling points, whereas in practice Palestinians yield only 73% of that amount. They fail to reach the designated amount due to technical limitations of their equipment, the particular properties of the aquifer and its water level, as well as the failure of U.S.- and German-aided attempts to drill for water in the aquifer’s eastern basin. As a result, Israel gets 86% of the aquifer’s water and the Palestinians only 14%. Even though Israel’s national water company Mekorot currently sells Palestinians 53 mcm of water a year – twice the amount stipulated in the Oslo Accords – it is a far cry from meeting demand.
Due to the inequitable distribution, Palestinians must make do with less water than Israelis. The World Health Organization and USAID both recommend a minimum of 100 liters of water per person/per day. This amount includes is not only for domestic use but includes supply to hospitals, schools, businesses, and other public institutions. Palestinian average daily consumption of water is about a third less than the recommended amount. The figures on water allocation make the discrimination between Israelis and Palestinians patently palpable:
Average water consumption in the West Bank for domestic, urban, and industrial purposes is approximately 73 liters per person/per day. In the northern West Bank average consumption is even lower. According to 2011 figures, a mere 38 liters in the Jenin area and 52 liters in the Tubas area.
Average water consumption in Israel is much higher. According to the Israeli Water Authority, average consumption is 183 liters per person/per day– more than twice the corresponding consumption in the West Bank. The lack of water in certain areas of the West Bank is exacerbated by Palestinian farmers’ illegal tapping into pipes supplying water to Palestinian villages. This occurs primarily in Area C, where Israel is directly responsible for law enforcement.
Read more: http://www.btselem.org/water/discrimination_in_water_supply
ASSESSMENT OF RESTRICTIONS ON PALESTINIAN WATER SECTOR DEVELOPMENT
The World Bank, April 2009
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWESTBANKGAZA/Resources/WaterRestrictionsReport18Apr2009.pdf
The humanitarian impact of the takeover of Palestinian water springs by Israeli settlers
UNITED NATIONS Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, MarCH 2012
https://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_springs_factsheet_march_2012_english.pdf
"Troubled Waters – Palestinians Denied Fair Access To Water" (Digest)
Source: Amnesty International
The report “Troubled Waters – Palestinians Denied Fair Access To Water”, published by Amnesty International on 27 October 2009 details the extent to which Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) do not have access to adequate, safe water supplies, largely as a result of direct restrictions put in place by the Israeli authorities. Currently, Palestinian daily water consumption barely reaches 70 litres a day per person, which is well below the World Health Organisation’s recommended minimum, compared to over 300 litres a day per capita in Israel.
Read more:http://www.amnesty.eu/en/news/statements-reports/region/middle-east-gulf-states/troubled-waters--palestinians-denied-fair-access-to-water-digest-0420/#.V4oohfK6NWk
French Parliament Report Accuses Israel of Water 'Apartheid' in West Bank
Source: Haaretz, Jan 17, 2012
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/french-parliament-report-accuses-israel-of-water-apartheid-in-west-bank-1.407685
Water supply and sanitation in the Palestinian territories
Source: Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_the_Palestinian_territories#External_cooperation
