- 27 mrt 2011
Officials: Israel destroys ancient wells near Bethlehem
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities destroyed ancient water wells and natural reservoirs used by Bedouins southeast of Bethlehem, Palestinian officials said.
A 3,000-cubic-meter well owned by Ali Madghan Rashayida and a 225-cubic meter reservoir belonging to Majid Rashayida were demolished last week, in a move Palestinian Authority officials said was illegal and "an obvious assault by the Israeli occupation."
International and local human rights groups had been working with PA officials to help the Rashayida Bedouins rehabilitate the area, and use natural caves to collect water for domestic use and for their sheep.
Bringing water tankers to the area had been very costly, and beyond the means of the community.
By demolishing the structures, Israeli authorities deprived the community of the right to file a legal appeal, officials added, noting that the time limit given in the demolition warrants had not yet passed.
Residents of Arab Ar-Rashayida were handed demolition orders for the tents and wells in their enclave of the village during the week of 13 March.
Ali Auda, the head of the family, said if the orders were carried out in full, the family -- 50 members in all -- would have nowhere else to go.
"It is the farce of the twenty-first century, imagine, an occupying state telling Palestinians they are violating their own land."
The partial demolition of the community will have an equally devastating effect, officials said, explaining that the Bedouin would not have sufficient water for themselves or their livestock, and would be at high risk during summer months in the desert area.
The UN has noted a sharp increase in Israel's demolitions of Palestinian structures in the West Bank in 2011.
"Although the Israeli authorities maintain that these demolitions are carried out due to the lack of Israeli-issued permits, the highly restrictive and often discriminatory nature of the planning regime implemented by the same authorities rarely grants Palestinians such permits in Area C, leaving them with no choice but to build 'illegally,' or to leave the area," the agency said February in its monthly report.
"It is difficult to understand the reasoning behind the destruction of basic rain water collection systems, some of them very old, which serve marginalised rural and herder Palestinian communities where water is already scarce and where drought is an ever-present threat," said Maxwell Gaylard, who heads OCHA in the Palestinian territories.
Gaylard noted that the demolitions were illegal under international law, which prohibits an occupying power from destroying property belonging to individuals or communities except when absolutely required by military operations.
Following Israel's confiscation of nine water tankers from a community in Khirbet Tana, in Nablus, on March 7, Gaylard said, "if the authorities ultimately responsible for these demolitions could see the devastating impact on vulnerable Palestinian communities, they might reflect upon the inhumanity of their actions."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=372755 12 jan 2012, 13:22 , Respect -
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Hebron village waiting for promised water repairs
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) Residents of Deir Al-Asal area in Dura village in Hebron are still suffering from the shortage of water for two years and they received many promises to solve their case.
Resident Raed Al-Shawamreh said in an interview with Ma'an that they are marginalized and they don't have water in their area. The water came to their region only once or twice in the two years.
He added: The officials of this region promised eight months ago to repair and fix the water canals and system but nothing was done." He is afraid that summer will come and no water will be available.
An official at the water department in the region Walid Abu Sharar said that the old network was undergoing repairs. The new one will reach Deir Al-Asal in Dura and 14 other villages, he said.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=380304 12 jan 2012, 13:22 , Respect -
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Work to Commence to Install Sewage Pipelines, Cremisan Area in Beit Jala
Beit Jala ANERA To PNN - This Week, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) signed a contract to install sewage collection pipelines for Beit Jala's Cremisan area.
The project is being implemented by ANERA under the Emergency Water and Sanitation and Other Infrastructure (EWAS II) Program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contract was signed by Jamal Al Aref, ANERA's EWAS II Chief of Party, and Mr. Tayseer Abu Shukhedem, owner of Al Petra Company for Excavations, in the presence of Mr. Gaby Abboud, USAID Projects Manager. Also in attendance were the Mayor of Beit Jala Eng. Raji Zeidan and ANERA's Southern West Bank EWAS II Area Manager Eng. Mohammad Abu Rajab.
The Cremisan area is the only part of Beit Jala that is not connected to the main sewage network. Wastewater is collected in deteriorated septic tanks which leak, causing major problems such as the contamination of drinking water, the spread of water-borne illnesses, and environmental pollution. While Beit Jala Municipality was able to obtain the required permits to implement this vital project, a lack of financial resources put the project on hold indefinitely. Fortunately, USAID stepped in to fill that gap.
With USAID funding amounting to around $475,000, ANERA will install over 2.5 miles (4,250 linear meters) of main and secondary PVC sewage pipelines that will serve the Cremisan Area, connecting it to Beit Jala's main sewage network. The implementation of this project will have a huge positive impact on the lives of approximately 6,000 residents of the area. Instead of collecting in septic tanks, wastewater will flow through the newly installed pipes to the main sewage network where it will be dealt with appropriately. This will reduce the possibility of water contamination and also reduce potential harm to the general health and wellbeing of the residents. In addition, the residents no longer have to pay hefty expenses for emptying their old and leaking septic tanks by means of vacuum tankers.
Mayor Raji Zeidan expressed his gratitude, saying, We salute and thank USAID for providing the funds for this project. And all my respect and thanks to ANERA whom we have a long working relationship with in implementing projects vital to the community.
In return, Eng. Jamal Al-Aref said that, We do not forget the efforts of the Mayor and the Municipality team and the residents of Beit Jala, all of whom have continuously contributed to the success of projects completed and ongoing which were implemented by ANERA and funded by USAID. ANERA is a partner with USAID and the local community, and together, we are working towards a common goal of development for the local community.
USAID has so far provided more than $3.3 billion in U.S. economic assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza since 1994. USAID coordinates closely with the PA to support projects designed to reduce poverty, improve health and education, implement infrastructure and water projects, create jobs, and promote democracy and good governance.
http://fwd4.me/00Zt 12 jan 2012, 13:23 , Respect -
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Once again, Israel threatens to raze wells, structures in Ramadin village
Al-Khalil, (PIC)-- Israeli civil servants escorted by Israeli troops stormed Ramadin village in Wadi Attina area, south of Al-Khalil city, and handed its residents military orders to demolish nine artesian wells and a number of barns and homes.
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) had destroyed hundreds of dunums of agricultural lands and pastures last month in this village in addition to stone barriers and agricultural roads built by action against hunger foundation (ACF) operating in Spain.
These demolitions reflected negatively on the economic and agricultural situation in the village which already suffers from hunger and drought.
"The policy of demolishing wells threatens the irrigation of thousand dunums of agricultural lands in Ramadin village, not to mention thousands of livestock and poultry that needs water," Nawwaf Al-Zagharneh, one of the elders in the village, said.
http://fwd4.me/00xK 12 jan 2012, 13:23 , Respect -
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Water chief hails report on 'Israeli exploitation'
RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Water Authority chief welcomed Thursday an Israeli rights group's report on the country's exploitation of water resources in the Jordan Valley, saying Israel's water allocation is used "as a weapon to target some of the most vulnerable Palestinian communities."
The Jordan Valley "serves as a microcosm of what is going on across the occupied Palestinian territory when it comes to Israel’s systematic exploitation of Palestinian water resources in violation of international law," Shaddad Attili said in a statement.
The report http://fwd4.me/01LH by B'Tselem said Thursday that Israel's takeover of water sources in the area, along the eastern flank of the West Bank, and allocation of water to settlers, demonstrates an intention to annex the area to Israel.
"Restrictions imposed by Israel on the amount of water Palestinians can access are part of a deliberate policy designed to put additional pressure on struggling Palestinian communities to leave their land," he said.
"Palestinians face acute levels of water scarcity as a direct result of the discriminatory water policies and practices implemented by Israel throughout the occupied Palestinian territory."
Securing access to Palestine’s water resources, Attili said, was an essential prerequisite to Palestinian state-building and ending Israel’s occupation.
"Water is not only essential in terms of residential use, but also for agricultural and industrial development," he continued.
"Israel continues to obstruct our efforts to develop what few water resources we have access to.
"The enormous difference in water allocation and consumption between Israeli settlers and Palestinians serves as an obvious example of the systemic inequalities that occur under Israel’s occupation.
"While settlers have access to all the water they could possibly want, the amount of water Israel allocates for Palestinian use falls far below established international standards for healthy water consumption," he added.
Attili called on the international community to "actively intervene to change what is an unsustainable situation."
The statement concluded: "The Jordan Valley is an inseparable part of the occupied West Bank, as is East Jerusalem, and any attempt to annex it on the part of Israel is not only illegal under international law, but runs contrary to the two-state solution."
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=387083 12 jan 2012, 13:23 , Respect -
Israel 'exploiting Jordan Valley resources'
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel has systematically exploited the resources of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, favoring settlers over Palestinians, an Israeli rights group said on Thursday.
A report by B'Tselem said Israel dominated the land, water resources and even tourist sites along the strip of land which runs along the eastern flank of the West Bank, in what appeared to be a prelude to a de facto annexation of territory.
"Israel has instituted a regime that massively exploits the resources of the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea, far more than elsewhere in the West Bank, demonstrating its intention: to de facto annex the area to the state of Israel," a B'Tselem statement said.
"Israel has taken over most of the water sources in the area, allocating almost all derived water to settlements," it said, charging that such actions violated international law, which prohibits the exploitation of natural resources within an occupied territory.
B'Tselem said the 9,400 Jewish settlers living there were able to develop intensive agriculture because they received water allocation equal to one third of the water accessible to the West Bank's 2.5 million Palestinian residents.
"Due to the water shortage, Palestinians have been forced to neglect farm land that used to be cultivated and switch to growing less profitable crops," it said.
It also accused Israel of taking control of 77.5 percent of land in the area, including major tourist attractions like the northern shores of the Dead Sea.
The Israeli rights group said it had submitted its findings to the justice ministry, which declined to comment.
The report was hailed by Dr Shadad Attili, head of the Palestinian Water Authority who said the disparity in water allocation was a clear example of the "systemic inequalities" taking place under Israel’s occupation.
"The Jordan Valley serves as a microcosm of what is going on across the occupied Palestinian territory when it comes to Israel’s systematic exploitation of Palestinian water resources in violation of international law," Attili said in a statement, accusing Israel of using water "as a weapon to target some of the most vulnerable" Palestinians.
"Restrictions imposed by Israel on the amount of water Palestinians can access are part of a deliberate policy designed to put additional pressure on struggling Palestinian communities to leave their land," he charged.
Israel captured the Jordan Valley, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Six Day War. The Palestinians claim the entire area and the Gaza Strip for a future state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently indicated that the Jewish state would demand to maintain troops in the Jordan Valley under any peace agreement with the Palestinians -- an idea Palestinians have completely rejected.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=386996 12 jan 2012, 13:23 , Respect -
Nablus village months without water
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- With both the Palestinian Authority and Israel's Civil Administration abdicating responsibility, local officials say parts of a Nablus-area village have been without water for months.
While drought is common in the mid-summer, many of the residents of Salem village have been purchasing high-priced water from local companies, or carrying buckets from municipal wells since the end of April.
Head of the Salem village Salim A’dli Ishteiyah said the eastern flank of the village had been the worst hit, with water from the taps having run dry months ago.
It is not just Salem village with problems, Ishtayeiyah told Ma'an, explaining that each month, Salem and the three surronding villages are allocated 50,000 cubic meters of water. Salem's share, he added "does not exceed 5,000, though we have 6,000 residents and need at least 18,000 cubic meters of water a month."
To buy water enough to fill a four or six cubic meter tank in the village, residents pay 150 shekels ($43.70), Ishtayeiyah estimated, noting that as water in the area becomes more scarce, the price has increased.
"The village depends on raising livestock, they have to be fed and watered," the official worried.
Ishteiyah said the village council had appealed to both the Palestinian Authority and Israel's Civil Administration, but had received no solutions to the shortage.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=398028 12 jan 2012, 13:23 , Respect -
Specialists: 95% of Gaza water is not drinkable
GAZA, (PIC)-- During a workshop organised by the Mizan centre for Human rights held on Thursday in Gaza, Palestinian specialists said that 95% of groundwater in the Gaza Strip is not potable.
They called on the international community and the and High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Convention to assume their responsibilities, through pressure on the occupation, to affirm the water rights of the Palestinian people, and press them to spare civilians the Zionist machine of aggression.
The specialists called for alternative sources to treated ground water, especially encouraging investment in desalination plants to make use of sea water as an alternative to protect the strategic reserve of ground water.
http://fwd4.me/02Qk - 12 juli 2011
US artists in Gaza over water crisis
(2:41) US artists in Gaza over water crisis - Press TV News
A delegation of US artists from several American organizations are in Gaza to bring worldwide attention to the water crisis in the besieged territory, the artists said they came to help local community paint murals about drinking, a basic human right. The initiative will create a series of 10 collaborative mural projects in 10 cities across the globe in areas impacted by water rights issues.
The murals will be painted at the sites of water purification unites which have been installed at schools and kindergarten, as part of the Middle East Children’s alliance Maia project, which was launched in September 2009, to provide Palestinian children with clean drinking water.
Through their collective creative process of painting, the artists aim to engage youth, local artists, organizers, and environmental activists, to create imagery which reflects the need for drinking water.
water experts say that more than 90% of ground water in Gaza is not suitable for human consumption, adding that Palestinians get only a quarter of the water Israelis have access to.
According to the Gaza Coastal Municipal Water Utility, Gaza will not have any fresh groundwater by 2015. Gazans consume more than 170 million liters from an aquifer which is the only source of groundwater in the strip.
The ongoing five year siege of Gaza has meant an increasingly long waiting list of spare parts and building materials. This directly has affected Gaza’s ability to maintain its sanitation and water treatment facilities.
http://fwd4.me/06Rx
Soldiers destroy wells, water pumps in the Jordan valley
NABLUS (Ma’an) -- Israeli forces destroyed water wells and water pumps in several villages in the Jordan Valley on Tuesday.
The villages of Al Nasaryah, Al Akrabanyah and Bet Hassan, all situated in the Jordan Valley, had water pumps and engines confiscated by Israeli soldiers.
The equipment was used by farmers in the villages.
Nabil Jawda, Muhammad Wahdan, and Najih Zaid all had property destroyed by soldiers, Ziad told Ma'an.
The coordinator for the Save the Valley Campaign, Fathi Khuderat, said that the villages are located in Area A of the Jordan Valley, which according to the Oslo Agreements should be under full Palestinian civil and security control.
The vast majority of the Jordan Valley is classified as Area C, with full Israeli control over security, planning and construction, and Israel has taking various measures to stifle the growth of Palestinian communities while promoting Israeli settlements in the region, rights groups say.
Khuderat noted that the Jordan Valley is rich agricultural land, with many Palestinian families earning a livelihood from agriculture.
He added that the destruction of wells which are considered the only source of income for some Palestinian families is devastating and a serious violation of the right of Palestinians to live in dignity on their own land.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=404510 12 jan 2012, 13:24 , Respect -
Maria 13 juli 2011
EU gives EUR 4 mln to Palestinian territories to deal with water scarcity
BRUSSELS, July 13 (KUNA) -- The EU Commission announced Wednesday the allocation of EUR four million to address water scarcity, which is affecting people in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Rainfall in the area is 59 percent down from the rainy season average and the drought is testing the resilience of many Palestinian communities with water and fodder shortages, said the EU's executive body in a statement.
"The rainfall deficit by itself puts at risk the livelihoods of many Palestinians, for instance those who make a living by herding," said Kristalina Georgieva, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response.
"But the drought is particularly painful when it hits people whose access to water is already very limited by the occupation in the West Bank and by the Gaza Strip blockade," she said.
"While many wells and other water sources are drying out, the occupation prevents Palestinian herders and their livestock from accessing some water points, which have not been as badly affected. The problem is particularly acute for the Bedouin communities," the EU Commissioner noted.
The EU funding will provide water for around 50,000 people and their livestock in the West Bank.
http://fwd4.me/06Xu 12 jan 2012, 13:24 , Respect -
Maria 12 jan 2012, 13:24 , Respect -
Maria 17 juli 2011
Water authority condemns destruction of wells
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The head of the Palestinian Water Authority has condemned Israel’s destruction of three water wells near Nablus, calling on the international community to intervene.
Shaddad Attili said the Beit Hassan wells were used to irrigate 2,000 dunums of land on which several families relied. "It is the ability of these families to stay on their land that Israel is targeting,” Attili said.
"In recent months, Israel has rapidly accelerated its destruction of essential Palestinian water infrastructure in flagrant violation of international law as well as previous agreements.
"This year alone, the Israeli military has destroyed 20 rainwater harvesting cisterns and 12 Palestinian wells. The impact on affected Palestinian communities continues to be disastrous.”
He added: "My immediate concern is for the welfare of those Palestinian families and communities affected by the destruction of these wells. Getting water to them is my first priority."
Attli's remarks came as residents of Bethlehem demonstrated over lack of water.
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=404723