Struggles Over Water

I grew up in Montana.   My Father was a soil conservationist and he worked for the U.S. Department of Soil Conservation Services.   He was passionate about his work and he made sure that I was well aware of the importance of good conservation practices.   I remember him saying, “the most precious resource in the world is water and this will be the source of great struggles and controversy in the future.”   It has been eye-opening to be in Palestine and observe how critical water issues are for the people of this area.  Here are some water statistics in Occupied Palestine.

“Average Israeli per capita consumption of water—including water consumption by settlers—is 4.3 times that of Palestinians in the occupied territories (including Gaza), according to the World Health Organization.  In the Jordan Valley, an estimated 9,000 settlers in Israeli agricultural settlements built illegally on Palestinian land use one-quarter the total amount of water consumed by the entire Palestinian population of the West Bank, some 2.5 million people.” Human Rights Watch, December 2010.

Fayez getting water to make us some tea

“Israeli planning restrictions and military orders have forced Palestinians in Area C to spend up to one-sixth of their income to purchase water at significant expense from small, portable water tankers.”  “In one case Israeli authorities cut water pipes leading from a spring to a Palestinian farm in the northern Jordan Valley, which now has no access to water other than via expensive tankers.  The spring now supplies water for a nearby settlement through pipes that run through the farmer’s land, which he cannot touch.”  Human Rights Watch, December 2010.

This site gives the complete 150 page report entitled “Separate and Unequal” which is very, very interesting.

http://www.globalpolicy.org/images/pdfs/separate_and_unequal.pdf

West Bank Water Usage

• Of the water available from West Bank aquifers, Israel uses 73%, West Bank Palestinians use 17%, and illegal Jewish settlers use 10%.
• While 10-14% of Palestine’s GDP is agricultural, 90% of them must rely on rain-fed farming methods. Israel’s agriculture is only 3% of their GDP, but Israel irrigates more than 50% of its land.
• Three million West Bank Palestinians use only 250 million cubic meters per year (83 cubic meters per Palestinian per year) while six million Israelis enjoy the use of 1,954 million cubic meters (333 cubic meters per Israeli per year), which means that each Israeli consumes as much water as four Palestinians. Israeli settlers are allocated 1,450 cubic meters of water per person per year.
• Israel consumes the vast majority of the water from the Jordan River despite only 3% of the river falling within its pre-1967 borders. Israel now diverts one quarter of its total water consumption through its National Water Carrier from the Jordan River, whereas Palestinians have no access to it whatsoever due to Israeli closures.
• Israel does not allow new wells to be drilled by Palestinians and has confiscated many wells for Israeli use. Israel sets quotas on how much water can be drawn by Palestinians from existing wells.
• When supplies of water are low in the summer months, the Israeli water company Mekorot closes the valves which supply Palestinian towns and villages so as not to affect Israeli supplies. This means that illegal Israeli settlers can have their swimming pools topped up and lawns watered while Palestinians living next to them, on whose land the settlements are situated, do not have enough water for drinking and cooking.
• Israel often sells the water it steals from the West Bank back to the Palestinians at inflated prices.

• During the war of 1967, 140 Palestinian wells in the Jordan Valley were destroyed to divert water through Israel’s National Water Carrier. Palestinians were allowed to dig only 13 wells between 1967 and 1996, less than the number of wells which dried up during the same period due to Israel’s refusal to deepen or rehabilitate existing wells. 

Watershed project near Haifa seen on our tour of Israel

• The Gaza strip relies predominately on wells that are being increasingly infiltrated by salty sea water because Israel is over-pumping the groundwater. UN scientists estimate that Gaza will have no drinkable water within fifteen years.
• Many of the most important underground wellsprings in the West Bank are located just to the east of the Green Line dividing Israel from Palestine. Israel has built the Separation Barrier not only to annex land but also to annex many of these wells in order to divert water to Israel and illegal West Bank settlements.
• The Separation Barrier is also a Water Barrier. Some of the largest Israeli settlements (such as Ariel and Qedumin) are built over the Western mountain aquifer, directly in the middle of the northern West Bank agricultural districts, and this is exactly where the Separation Barrier cuts deepest into Palestinian territory to surround and annex this vital water source.
• The building of the Separation Barrier has caused the village of Falamya in Qalqiliya district to lose its main source of water. In Jayyous, a village near Falamya, all of its seven water wells have been annexed or destroyed by the Separation Barrier.
• In the West Bank, around 50 groundwater wells and over 200 cisterns have been destroyed or isolated from their owners by the Separation Barrier. This water was used for domestic and agricultural needs by over 122,000 people. To build the Separation Barrier, 25 wells and cisterns and 35,000 meters of water pipes have also been destroyed.
• In 2003, the losses incurred by Palestinian farmers due to the Separation Barrier diverting water resources has been 2,200 tons of olive oil, 50,000 tons of fruit, and 100,000 tons of vegetables.
• The Separation Barrier is obstructing many water run-off flows in the Qalqiliya region that normally divert water to prevent flooding. During heavy rains in February 2005, Israeli soldiers refused to open drainage pipes in Qalqiliya, which led to heavy flood damage to crops and homes there. The Separation Barrier also caused severe flooding in Zububa and other villages.

Information extracted from fact sheets from the Palestine Monitor (http://www.palestinemonitor.org/spip/)

So this is my attempt to give you some idea of what the Palestinian people have to endure relative to water. One of the more interesting stories in the Bible is Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well.  (John 4)  Many of the Palestinian Christians I have met trace their religious roots to this story.  It makes their present plight concerning water to be one of great irony.

Blessings to you,

Susanne