Undeniable discrimination in the amount of water allocated to Israelis and Palestinians

[Jefferson23]

Following the Knesset debate today, B'Tselem publishes a short FAQ about inequality in the distribution of water between Palestinians and Israelis.

1. Is there discrimination in terms of the quantity of water available to Israelis and Palestinians?

Yes, there is discrimination in water allocation and Israeli citizens receive much more water than Palestinian residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The Government of Israel is largely responsible for this discrimination due its water policy: First, minimal amounts of water are supplied to Palestinians and water from shared resources is unequally divided; Second, existing infrastructure with high levels of water loss is not upgraded, no infrastructure is developed for communities that are not connected to the water grid and water infrastructure projects in areas located inside the Palestinian Authority are not approved. It is important to note that the water allocation for Palestinians was determined in the Oslo Accord, but the agreement included a plan to increase the supply. This plan never materialized. In addition, demand for water has increased due to population growth over the twenty years since the Oslo Accord was signed.

2. Are there gaps in water consumption between Israelis and Palestinians? Absolutely.

According to the Israeli national water company, Mekorot, the average household water consumption in Israel is between 100 and 230 liters per person per day. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 100 liters per person per day. This figure relates to urban consumption which includes drinking, food preparation and hygiene, and takes into consideration urban services such as hospitals and public institutions. Israelis living in the settlements, as well as inside Israel, generally have access to as much running water as they please.

This is not the case for Palestinians.

in full: http://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20140212_discrimination_in_water_allocation

[Jefferson23]

1. Over 90% of water in Gaza Strip unfit for drinking

Gaza's main water source is the coastal aquifer, which is also used by Israel and Egypt. It has been continuously over-pumped for decades, even prior to Israel's occupation in 1967. At present, the Palestinian Water Authority pumps some 180 million cubic meters (mcm) a year from the aquifer in Gaza, although its replenishment rate is only 50-60 mcm a year. Over the years, this has significantly lowered the groundwater level, leading to contamination of the aquifer’s water by seawater seeping in and saline groundwater rising from deeper in the reservoir. Israel currently sells Gaza 4.2 mcm of water a year and has agreed to sell another 5 mcm of desalinated water annually, but the infrastructure work for conveying the water have yet to be completed.

Another longstanding problem in the Gaza Strip is the lack of proper wastewater treatment. Many residents are not even connected to a sewage system, and domestic waste flows into cesspits, from where it seeps into the groundwater and contaminates it. The problem has grown worse in recent years, primarily due to electricity shortages. In addition, Israel damaged wastewater-treatment facilities during Operation Cast Lead, resulting in far greater quantities of sewage going untreated. Although the facility has since been restored and new infrastructure laid in towns previously not connected to a sewage system, Gaza's wastewater-treatment facilities are far from able to meet the required amounts and standards.

Although infrastructure has since been rebuilt or added in towns previously left untreated, Gaza's wastewater-treatment facilities are far from meeting the necessary standards. Various projects to improve infrastructure are slow to progress, due both to Israel's restrictions on importing construction materials and equipment into Gaza as well as to lengthy bureaucratic processes in the international organizations funding the projects.

>The Palestinian Water Authority in Gaza has found a rise in nitrate levels in the water due to contamination, mostly caused by pesticide use in agriculture and sewage seeping into the aquifer. Every day, only some 25 percent of Gaza's wastewater – about 30,000 cubic meters – is treated and recycled for agricultural use. Some 90,000 cubic meters of untreated or partially treated wastewater flows daily into the Mediterranean, resulting in contamination, health hazards and damage to the fishing industry. Due to the increased nitrate levels, the aquifer is now high in nitrogen and chloride, rendering 90 to 95 percent of its water unfit for drinking and problematic for agricultural use. The PA’s Water Authority also found that only 14 wells (some 6.5% of all wells in Gaza) provide water that meets World Health Organization standards.

remainder: http://www.btselem.org/gaza_strip/20140209_gaza_water_crisis

[Igel]

2. Didn't know that pesticides triggered nitrate contamination.

Actually, even though B'tselem requires that it be true for their text to be really coherent, I still don't think I know that pesticides trigger nitrate contamination.

I'm forever amazed at human language. We can have a long text that purports to be primarily about Palestinians. Yet every sentence ultimately has as its main topic, its focus, what the sentence is commentary to, the unavoidable true subject that must be recognized, nothing more or less than Israel--and not just Israel, but the collective of Israelis that B'tselem disapproves of. In the gaps of the text, the "interstices," so to speak, lies B'tselem.

A wonderous thing, human language.

[Jefferson23]

3. They're a human rights group...a wonderous thing. n/t

[azurnoir]

4. Cornell University says nitrate from pesticide along with other sources such as septic leakage

cause groundwater contamination

http://psep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/nit-heef-grw85.aspx

[Jefferson23]

5. Severe problems with water supply in West Bank and Gaza, February 2014

No child should have to be afraid to drink a glass of water lest there be none tomorrow. These are my difficulties. These are my children’s fears.” Thus B’Tselem field researcher Nasser Nawaj'ah concluded his open letter in Haaretz to Israel’s Minister of Economy and Commerce Naftaly Bennett. The inequity of water supplied to Israelis versus Palestinians came up for discussion in Knesset last week.

Further to the Knesset session, we posted precise figures regarding water consumption in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. All West Bank residents must deal with constant water shortages due to the discriminatory allocation of water to the West Bank in comparison to Israel. Even those people in the West Bank who are hooked up to the water grid do not have the pleasure of running water year-round; most residents place large water-storage containers on their roofs. In addition, 113,000 people are not hooked up to the water grid at all, so they are forced to spend much money on the high-priced water carried by water trucks.

The situation in the Gaza Strip has more to do with quality than with quantity. Over 90% of the water in Gaza is unfit for drinking. The residents drink purified water they purchase from public or private water treatment facilities. Wafa al-Faran, 42, a married mother of eight described the situation in Gaza where she lives: “We don't drink the water that from the pipes and don't use it for making coffee or tea or for cooking. We buy fresh water from water vendors. Sometimes, I use the fresh water to wash my daughters’ hair, and in the morning we use this water to wash our faces, because the water from the taps burns our eyes.”

The following images paint a grim picture of the of water supply problems in the West Bank and Gaza:

?1392821634

?1392821711

?1392821835

http://www.btselem.org/photoblog/20140219_water