Palestine: Israel rations water to a trickle, Amnesty International says

In a new report [1], Amnesty International has accused Israel of denying Palestinians the right to access adequate water by maintaining total control over the shared water resources and pursuing discriminatory policies. Israeli authorities said the report “distorts the truth” and that it reflected Palestinian propaganda.

“Israel allows the Palestinians access to only a fraction of the shared water resources, which lie mostly in the occupied West Bank, while the unlawful Israeli settlements there receive virtually unlimited supplies. In Gaza the Israeli blockade has made an already dire situation worse,” said Donatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s researcher on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Uzi Landau, Israel’s minister of national infrastructure, called the report “a lie” and said it reflected Palestinian propaganda. “Despite Israel’s severe water crisis, Israel transfers large quantities of water, greater than it is obliged to according to the [Oslo] agreement.”

[1] Amnesty International (2009).

• Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Demand Dignity: Troubled waters – Palestinians denied fair access to water. Download PDF
• Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories: Thirsting for justice: Palestinian access to water restricted (Demand Dignity campaign digest). Download PDF

Related news: Palestine: Friends of the Earth call for 'failed' Joint Water Committee to be replaced, Source Weekly, 27 May 2009

Source: Amnesty International, 27 Oct 2009 ; IRIN, 27 Oct 2008

Keywords

• Middle East & North Africa
• Policies & legislation
• Water resources management
• Water supply - Water treatment