Thirsty … a systematic Israeli policy to strangle the Palestinians in the West Bank
On the roofs of the homes of the town of Betonia, southwest of Ramallah, black water tanks are lined up by the people watching the drops that may not come. Citizenship opens the Nida Salem Sanabur water daily, and you only find the air. She says: & quot; We are waiting for water as if we were waiting for the miracle. Water arrives once every ten days, and sometimes it does not come at all, and this does not happen by chance, but rather an Israeli policy to kill the spirit of life in us. Water scarcity and its continuous interruption are part of daily suffering, which exceeds a climate crisis or mismanagement, to roar in the Israeli occupation policies that control water resources, and turn it into a collective punishment and long -term colonial strategy.
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– A systematic monopoly of water
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Since the occupation of the West Bank in 1967, Israel has imposed almost complete control of water resources, especially in the mountain basin, which is the main source of groundwater in Palestine. According to the Palestinian Water Authority report for the year 2023, Israel seizes more than 85% of the water of this basin, leaving the Palestinians less than 15%.
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in Hebron Governorate, this control is clear The supplier. The Israeli is constantly shrinking the quantities allocated to Hebron. Sometimes we get less than 40% of the required amount, which makes us unable to apply a regular distribution schedule. & Quot;
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& nbsp; 35-40 liters, which is much less than the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization, estimated at 100 liters per person per day."Color:#e74c3c;">- Bethlehem is also thirsty. Citizen Abdel -Rahman Hassan from Al -Saf Street says: & quot; the water has not reached our homes for 20 days. We have to buy water tanks with 150 shekels for three cubic meters. Many cannot bear this burden under the difficult economic conditions. We live in constant thirst. & Quot; And it confirms: & quot; this is not a natural crisis, but rather a policy of starvation and thirst."Color:#e74c3c;">- A systematic policy and new tools.
& nbsp; He says: & quot; The occupation follows new tools to deepen the crisis, including turning a blind eye to stealing water from the feeding lines of the West Bank, especially in the areas (C) subject to the complete control of the occupation. The Palestinian Water Authority provided infrastructure and feeding networks for most population gatherings, but the quantities that actually reach the occupation. & quot;"Color:#e74c3c;">- A colonial and controlled tool
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Researcher in settlement affairs, Suhail Khalilia, puts the policy of thirst within an integrated colonial system. He says: & quot; Israel controls water as a tool for hegemony and control of the Palestinians. Water is one of the conditions of a decent life, and the deprivation of people from it is an explicit violation of international humanitarian law, especially Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
& nbsp; Palestinian water drains. & Quot; Assembly."Color:#e74c3c;">- Water as a direct conflict front. Khaliliya says: & quot; according to human rights reports, more than 460 attacks were recorded, including 63 direct attacks on Palestinian springs. & Quot;
& nbsp; Thousands of people of water. The colonists also took control of 56 fountains in the northern Jordan Valley and the western region isolated behind the wall, and transformed them into exclusive tourist parks for them. It aims to expel farmers and dry Palestinian agriculture. & Quot;
& nbsp;"Color:#e74c3c;">- Between international law and daily reality. However, the daily reality of the Palestinians, from Betonia to Hebron, Bethlehem and the Jordan Valley, reflects the size of the paradox between legal texts and occupation practices on the ground.
& nbsp; Yes, a drop of water, and they pay their limited income to provide basic needs, which were deprived of it due to systematic policies that seek to subjugate them, and strip them of tools of resilience and survival. & nbsp;
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