- 18 oct 2011
France Delivers Feasibility Study to Water Authority
RAMALLAH, (WAFA) – The Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) Tuesday received a French-funded feasibility study on the establishment of water training center, according to a press release.
The release said the Consul General of France in Jerusalem, Frederic Desagneaux, delivered a feasibility study on the establishment of a Palestinian training center for professionals working in the water and sanitation sector to the head of PWA, Shaddad Attili.
The study conducted by the International Office for Water at the request of the PWA focused on the terms of reference of such a center (technical features, cost, location, governance), in view of improving the training supply in the water sector in Palestine.
The water sector is a top priority for French cooperation in the Palestinian territories, both in the West Bank and Gaza, with a total funding estimated at 100 million euros since 1998.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17800 12 jan 2012, 14:23 , Respect -
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Struggling for water in Gaza
by Leila al-Najar and Ishraq Othman
The Beach camp “Al-shate" is located to the west of Gaza City. Small houses are crowded together with an unbearable smell springing from the wastewater running through the alleys. As volunteers in Youth for the Right of Water and Sanitation project (YRWS) we occasionally visit homes there randomly for our case study on water problems. Residents suffer enormously from serious water problems caused by the Israeli occupation which for years has undertaken exploiting and withdrawing all our pure water resources; groundwater, the Jordan River, the Gaza valley and Lake Tiberius. Thus, all aquifers start to run out and the problem of salty water is increasingly appearing in most houses in Gaza.
We visited the home of Haider Saed Abu-Jazya, a 51 year old carpenter and a father of 14 children whose family has a long miserable history with water. "We have been suffering from water shortage and unfair distribution for 10 years. It’s only available for two days a week beginning at midnight only to run out again in the morning. Along with the problem of polluted insufficient supply another problem has emerged, salty water” said Haider who looks older than his age.
The tone of Haider’s voice tells us he is extremely worried about his family’s life. He is likely to pass on the misery he inherited from his refugee parents to his children. “Can you drink a cup of tea melted with three spoons of salt? Absolutely you cannot” he stresses. He describes how salty and polluted water negatively affects his family. For this, he is obliged to buy a 500-liter gallon supply of water which costs 15 NIS 4 US dollars a day. Sometimes he borrows from a neighbor or friend to pay for it, ? other times his friends have no money to offer.
Not only is pure water used for drinking but also for ordinary daily use. Haider has a big family, yet he earns a low income to cover the simplest and most important needs of life like water ?which must be affordable to all people as a matter of human rights.
"A house without water as quiet as a desert”, he concludes.
Once, he ran out of water for two weeks in a row, so his wife couldn’t do the house chores like cooking, washing and laundering. Thus, they had to throw their dirty clothes away, which were not laundered for days and could not be used again.
How can a human being survive in such conditions?! How can not one be infected by diseases of salty water?
“The low quality of water causes allergies and red pimples arising on my children’s skin” his wife whispers.
WHAT TO DO?!
“All dwellers of the neighborhood gathered and headed to the municipality to complain about the water problems we all face, there were promises made but never fulfilled” he said.
Haider speaks on behalf of the Palestinian nation, hoping this voice will be heard all over the planet.
To those who read this article, imagine that you cannot get a drop of pure water while your baby is strongly crying because his milk is his only food.
Palestine suffers from severe lack of water and Gaza’s water in particular is going to run out by 2020. As long as the world commits absolute silence, Gaza will turn into a wasteland. Gaza needs your help, don’t hesitate to help our people.
http://fwd4.me/0fRR 12 jan 2012, 14:23 , Respect -
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Environment official: 95 percent of the aquifer unfit for human use
GAZA, (PIC)-- Head of the environment authority Yousuf Ibrahim warned that about 95 percent of the water aquifer in the Gaza Strip unsuitable for human consumption due to high levels of salinity.
Ibrahim made his remarks during the TV show "meeting with an official" which is organized by the government's information office in Gaza.
The environment official suggested that the use of rainwater can provide some kind of solution to this problem if the ministry of local government demanded every home and institution to necessarily establish a big tank underground to store rainwater and then pump it directly to the aquifer.
He also pointed out that another solution is to reutilize the ablution water used by worshipers in mosques for irrigation purposes in order to save the aquifer from depletion.
"We need 20 years of no use from the aquifer in order to rehabilitate it once again," the official emphasized.
He noted that the environment authority's mission is to protect and preserve such resources and stop any behavior leading to their depletion and damage through guidance and awareness means.
http://fwd4.me/0fxX 12 jan 2012, 14:23 , Respect -
PA Signs Cooperation Agreement with Germany
RAMALLAH, October 31, 2011 (WAFA) – The Palestinian Authority Monday signed a cooperation agreement with the German government to support two water treatment projects in the northern West Bank cities of Tulkarm and Nablus.
Three million euros will be added, through this agreement, to the total value of the Tulkarm regional water treatment project, reaching a total value of 16 million euros.
The project includes the establishing of 35 kilometer long internal water supply systems in targeted areas, to connect them to a 15 kilometer long major water carrier reaching the water treatment station in the western part of Tulkarm.
Another three million euros will be added to the overall amount of the Nablus water treatment project, reaching a total value of 17.3 million euros.
The project aims to solve the water shortage problems in Nablus through extending the water pipelines carrying water by a total of 15.6 kilometers, extending the water distribution networks and establishing water tanks and pumps at specified locations in Nablus.
The agreement was signed by Palestinian Minister of Planning and Administrative Development Ali Jarbawi and mayors of Tulkarm and Nablus with the director of the German Development Bank in Ramallah.
Al Jarbawi considered these aids a continuation of the fruitful Palestinian-German relations.
This grant is part of 42.5 million euros of Germany’s development aid to Palestine in 2011, distributed in several vital sectors, particularly on local governance, water and treating wastewater.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=17913 - 14 nov 2011
With Grey Water Recylcing, Hope Springs in the Desert
(1:51) Clearing the Canals in Al-Auja, Jordan Valley - 30 Oct 2011 (English)
A garden at the AEC in Wadi Auja
The Auja Environmental Center (AEC) was officially opened in October 2010, and although only in operation for one year it has already received recognition from the local and international community for its work. Located north of Jericho, the AEC is one of three ‘ecoparks’ established by Friends of the Earth Middle East (FOEME) across Palestine, Jordan and Israel.
Promoting environmental awareness, the Centre teaches visitors about the geology, flora, fauna, water resources and cultural heritage of Wadi Auja and the Jordan Valley as a whole. There is a permaculture garden, grey water recycling facility, and a children’s playground on site, along with a number of educational installations and stations. School groups have visited the Center to learn about their local environment, and important environmental issues like water use, waste management, and climate change.
In addition, the local community has been able to learn about grey water recycling and the AEC has helped to establish more than 25 grey water recycling facilities in homes and schools surrounding Auja. In a region struggling for access to water, these projects have made a significant impact.
The AEC itself aims to be a model of sustainability, using recycled materials and sustainable building techniques in much of its construction. Over 2500 used tyres have been used to create the educational installations, and staff are also perfecting the art of mud building to use in further developments at the site. The Centre has provided unique educational and employment opportunities for the local community, and has become a hub for children to gather and play.
The AEC is just one part of FOEME’s broader work, focussed on promoting cooperative efforts across the region to protect the environment. Much of FOEME’s work is focussed on addressing water issues, and it has partnered with 28 communities across Palestine, Jordan and Israel in order to develop cooperative strategies for sustainable water management.
FOEME’s work has been widely praised, and in October it was awarded the 2011 Mount Zion Award. The award recognizes the achievements of organizations that have made an outstanding contribution in enhancing dialogue between different cultures in the Holy Land. Following on from this award, the Association for Conflict Resolution recognized FOEME with its Outstanding Leadership Award 2011, which honors exceptional work promoting conflict resolution in development projects.
The AEC has brought hope and encouragement to the local community, transforming a barren plot into a flourishing hub of community life in only a short time. Currently, plans are underway at the AEC to develop a hostel and restaurant on site to encourage international visitors and promote ecotourism in the region. To this end, staff are also working to develop hiking trails that will allow visitors to experience the Jordan Valley for themselves. This is only the beginning for the AEC, and it seems that there are no limits to what the future may hold.
http://fwd4.me/0glj 12 jan 2012, 14:24 , Respect -
Maria 12 jan 2012, 14:24 , Respect -
Maria 18 nov 2011
Israeli military refuses international presence in the Palestinian struggle for access to water
(4:20) Israeli military refuses international presence in the Palestinian struggle for access to water
Each Friday the villagers of Nabi Saleh in Palestine go to demonstrate for their right to water from their spring; a right that they lost in 2009 when settlers from a nearby Israeli settlement took control over the spring and it's surroundings and prevented Palestinian access to their land.
Journalists, volunteers and activists share the Palestinian struggle and practice "protective presence" in the demonstrations. International witnesses are however not welcome by the Israeli occupants, and today we were not let in to the village.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
11:16 Armed Israeli military stops our service taxi at a road block. Everyone has to step out of the vehicle.
11:22 The Israeli military declares the area a "closed military zone".
11:27 An Israeli soldier tells us that we have to leave, or else they'll call the police. We start to walk back the road.
11:35 An Israeli military vehicle is catching up with us and stops in front of us.
11:39 Three armed Israeli soldiers jump out and tell us that we are not allowed to be here either since it's a closed military area. We are informed that we are not allowed to take any pictures or move in the area.
11:49 We observe the Israeli military shooting teargas in the village of Nabi Saleh.
11:51 We start to walk towards the main road since we don't get a taxi. The Israeli military vehicle is "escorting" us.
12:06 We manage to stop a service taxi, but the military honk as a warning and gesture towards the driver not to stop. We walk to the vehicle to communicate with the soldiers, and we knock on their window pane. The soldiers turn on their sirens.
12:11 Again we try to communicate with the soldiers since they are not allowing any vehicle to stop for us. That's where this movie comes from. We are told that they'll will arrest us if we don't leave. We tell them that we can't leave because they're preventing all vehicles to stop for us.
12:21 A service taxi stops for us and the soldiers don't intervene. The military vehicle is following us for some kilometers and then turns back. 12 jan 2012, 14:24 , Respect -
Maria Israeli Settlers Water Theft
(7:54) Israeli Settlers Water Theft
(3:10) Israeli police: video of crying boy was staged 12 jan 2012, 14:24 , Respect -
Maria 17 nov 2011
Israeli army steps up attacks on Palestinian water
Israeli forces destroy a water container in the West Bank
According to Jordan Valley Solidarity, the Israeli army demolished two water wells on Monday in Baqa’a, near the West Bank Palestinian village of Tammun. The water was used, primarily, to irrigate agricultural land. Hundred of families depend on the land for their livelihood.
The last two months have seen a steady stream of Israeli army attacks on Palestinian Bedouin water wells in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley.
On October 13, farmers received demolition orders on several water wells in Kufr al-Deek, a village in the town of Salfit near Nablus.
On the 8th of September, 50 military jeeps, trucks and bulldozers sealed off Al Nasarayah as a closed military zone, and proceeded to illegally destroy 3 water wells and confiscate the attached water systems, the pumps of which cost $40,000 each to install.
Five days later, the IOF returned to Al Nasarayah to demolish 2 more wells, stopping along the way to destroy another well east of Tamoun.
The next day, IDF soldiers entered the village of Al- Fa’ara, near Nablus, to photograph and record the GPS coordinates of 6 more wells intended for demolition.
These water wells had permits from the Palestinian Authority, and were operating in the 5% of the Jordan Valley designated after the 1993 Oslo Accords Area A, under full Palestinian civil and military control.
(1:51) Clearing the Canals in Al-Auja, Jordan Valley - 30 Oct 2011 (English)
Since the beginning of Israel’s colonization of the Jordan Valley in 1967, local Bedouin have seen the steady drying-up of the once-flowing springs around which they built their villages. They are unable to dig sufficient wells of their own because of crippling Israeli regulations, and have become dependent on the Israelis for access to a basic human right.
According to Ma’an Development Center’s 2010 report ‘Draining Away- the Water and Sanitation Crisis in the Jordan Valley’, 40% of Palestinians in the Jordan Valley consume less water than the minimum global standard set by the World Health Organization, which is set at 100 liters cubed per day. In a striking disparity, 56,000 Palestinians in the Jordan Valley consume an average of 37 Million Cubic Meters (MCM) of water per year, as compared to an average of 41 MCM for only 9,400 settlers.
Because of post-Oslo Accords regulations, Jordan Valley Bedouins living in Area C (95% of the Valley) cannot build, or improve, the smallest animal pen, much less a water well, without a permit, which is almost impossible to obtain. The Oslo Accords set up a Joint Water Committee (JWC), composed of Israelis and Palestinians, to grant construction permits.
(6:37) A Palestinian mayor says Israeli army starves his little village of water
However, ‘Draining Away’ reports that “around 150 Palestinian water and sanitation projects are still pending JWC approval for ‘technical and security reasons’, while only one new Palestinian well project for the [West Bank] Western aquifer has been approved since 1993. In contrast, Israel is able to construct pipelines to its illegal settlements without going through the mechanism of the JWC. Thus Israel effectively has full control of water resources in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”
Even if a project is approved by the JWC, it must then be approved by the Israeli Civil Administration, where, according to Deeb Abdelghafar, Director of Water Resources for the Palestinian Water Authority, “there are more than 14 departments, and each department must approve on the project. So we can never get a project through”.
The 2009 World Bank report ‘Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Development: West Bank and Gaza’ quotes an anonymous NGO donor: “the first thing we request is a letter from PWA approving the project. Then we go to the JWC. But then we have to go to the Civil Administration – and there delays of 2-3 years are normal. In fact, we have no positive outcomes for Area C.”
Because of the impossibility of laying infrastructure, NGOs focus, says Abdelghafar, on “civil emergency intervention- by delivering small water tankers, by supplying them with water tanks, by constructing rainwater cisterns- it’s emergency humanitarian relief.” While important, this aid is temporary, able only to alleviate the symptoms, not cure the disease.
The Israelis, Abdhelgafar makes clear, “are trying to establish control over the Valley, by preventing or destroying permanent water infrastructure...they want to clear Area C of Palestinians”.
Source
http://fwd4.me/0gwx
12 jan 2012, 14:33 , Respect -
Maria 19 nov 2011
Report: “Palestinian Village Condemned To Live In Darkness”
After the “Seeba” Spanish organization managed to install Solar Panels at a Palestinian village in the West Bank, known as Amenzil, and for the first time its residents managed to have electricity, Israel issued a military injunction ordering the residents to remove the Panels.
The village never had power, but after the panels were installed, the residents started providing their homes, and event tents, with lights, bought TV sets and other electric materials.
In cooperation with the An-Najah University In Nablus, the Spanish nongovernmental organization installed two Solar Panels in the tiny village “Amenzil” located in the southern part of the West Bank, and the villagers managed to replace their gas-run generators that were barely enough for basic functions.
The Solar Panels also enabled the residents to run a water-pump to provide the village with water supplies, especially since it does not have running water.
The Israeli army claims that the small village, located in Area C in the West Bank, was built without construction permits, and issued an order last month forcing the residents to remove the Solar Panels.
Area C is %60 of the occupied West Bank, and all constructions are subject to approval from the so-called “Civil Administration Authority”, that runs under the control of the Israeli Army in the occupied West Bank.
Several Israeli NGO’s, and the United Nations, are trying to convince the army to void its decision that came without prior notice.
The Spanish government is also using diplomatic channels in an attempt to prevent the army from removing the Solar Panels. The project was implemented with a total cost of nearly 365.000 Euros, largely funded by Seeba.
Head of the village council, Ali Hreizat, told France Press that “these Solar Panels were they ray of hope to the residents”, and added, “We have been living here since 1948, and have nowhere else to go”.
Hreizat added that the village was never recognized by Israel, and all of its constructions were built without construction permits, therefore, asking Israel to permit the installment of the Solar Panels would be in vain.
A Spanish official, in charge of the project, stated that an application was actually filed to Israel before the project started, but the military division, in charge of construction permits, never responded.
The Israeli Civil Administration said that the panels were installed without a permit, and must be removed, and claimed that the Spanish Organization was allowed to appeal “but refused to present its case in front of the Appeals Committee”.
According to the Arabs48 News Website, the Spanish group filed an appeal to the head of the Civil Administration, Etan Dangot, who halted the demolish order and demanded Seeba to present detailed maps of the Solar Panels.
A spokesperson of the Israeli Army stated Wednesday that the army “is willing to approve the Panels”, adding that all approvals “must be directed through legal channels”.
http://www.imemc.org/article/62530 12 jan 2012, 14:34 , Respect -
Maria 20 nov 2011
Settlement’s Waste Water Destroys Olive Trees
SALFIT, (WAFA) – Waste water from Revava settlement, which is established on the land of Deir Estia, near Salfit in the northern West Bank, completely destroyed 20 olive trees and flooded another 100 trees in Palestinian land around the settlement, Sunday said a local official.
Nazmi Salman, mayor of Deir Estia, said the waste water is threatening hundreds of dunums (1 dunum=1000 square meters) of land planted with olive trees in the western valley area to the west of the town, adding that farmers couldn’t harvest the 100 olive trees that were flooded.
He said the municipality filed several complaints to stop the settlers’ assaults against the land but to no avail.
Dawoud Fares, owner of the damaged trees, was repeatedly assaulted by settlers before, including a physical attack and the arson of almost 300 olive plants in his land, added Salman.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18060
12 jan 2012, 14:34 , Respect -
Maria 22 nov 2011
Israeli Bulldozers Raze Land, Destroy Irrigation Networks in Jericho
JERICHO, (WAFA) – Israeli Bulldozers Tuesday razed an agricultural land, belonging to Palestinian farmer Hassan Erekat, and destroyed the irrigation networks considered the main water source to the land in an area northeast of the West Bank city of Jericho.
Erekat told WAFA that Israeli bulldozers, under the protection of Israeli soldiers, razed 18 dunums (1 dunum=1000 square meters) of land planted with corn crops and destroyed the infrastructure of the irrigation networks that irrigate about 120 dunums of the agricultural land.
“I have been planting this land since the mid eighties and I never got any notice from the Israeli government as it claims, “he said.
Governor of Jericho and the Jordon Valley, Majid Fityani, condemned the ongoing attacks against Jericho residents and declaration of land as a closed military zone, in addition the bulldozing and confiscation policy.
He also condemned forcing the farmers to get a prior permission in order to enter their land.
He affirmed that these Israeli measures will only increase the steadfastness of the farmers.
http://english.wafa.ps/index.php?action=detail&id=18088
12 jan 2012, 14:36 , Respect -
Maria 29 nov 2011
Ministry of Environmental Affairs: Israel Steals 85% of Palestinian Water
Palestinians in refugee camps such as this one in Jenin, home to 12,000 refugees, use water tanks instead of water networks
Jamil Matawir, deputy chairman of the PA Ministry of Environmental Affairs, said on Sunday that Israel controls up to 85% of Palestinian wells and underground water resources, negatively affecting the Palestinian ecosystem.
The conference in Ramallah where Matawir was speaking was held to “shed light on Israeli occupation polices against Palestinian water [resources], depriving people in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Matawir called on the United Nations to send a mission to investigate the effect of Israeli control of Palestinian water resources on the environment.
General director of the National Water Council Ahmed al-Hindi said the average individual Palestinian consumption reaches to 70 liters of water a day, in some rural areas going as low as 20 liters. The recommended level of the World Health Organization is 100 liters per day. The average individual Israeli consumption, according to Israeli human rights organization B’tselem, is 242 liters a day, or three times the Palestinian average.
“The Palestinian need for sufficient quantities of water is a sustained problem created by Israeli polices based on discrimination and deprivation,” said al-Hindi. “Israel controls the land and handicaps the work of the joint water committee, delaying implementation of water and sewage projects, destroying water wells and confiscating underground water in Areas B and C.”
Al-Hindi charged Israel with violating several international agreements, including the 1994 Oslo Accords, which mandates Israeli recognition of Palestinian rights to water and Article 55 of the Hague Regulations, which prevent Israel from using water resources of an occupied territory for any use besides the military or in excess of previous use levels.
Matawir also said Israel has uprooted more than 1.5 million olive trees since 2000. According to the 2009 UN Human Development report, uprooting trees has greatly affected the atmosphere. Levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) has increased to 600 tons, while the remaining trees were able to absorb only about 1.5 percent of greenhouse gases.
http://fwd4.me/0hgU