The public servant accused Israel of cutting or restricting the supply of water to the population of both territories, especially after the outbreak of the new cycle of violence on October 7th, 2023.
As part of this strategy, the Israeli Armed Forces destroyed pipes and facilities in the sector in Gaza, while preventing the entry of fuel for the operation of pumping equipment, desalination plants, and wells, the functionary explained in an interview with the Wafa news agency. He warned that the limit of daily per capita consumption in the Gaza Strip currently ranges between 3 and 15 liters, insufficient to cover minimum needs.
Ghoneim stated that the panorama in the West Bank is similar because Israel controls most of the sources of the liquid and also uses them “as a weapon to fight the Palestinian presence in the territory and complete its colonial project of forced displacement.”
He condemned the actions of Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, which systematically reduces the percentage of water it pumps to Palestinians. “The company always gives technical excuses, but in reality, it is a political problem,” stressed Ghoneim, who explained that the reduction in water supply in the south of the West Bank reached 40 percent at one point.
The geographical divisions and barriers created by Israel prevent the establishment of any independent water system in Palestine, the authority estimated.
A few days ago, the Commission for Resistance to the Wall and Palestinian Colonization denounced Israeli authorities for controlling 88 percent of water sources in the West Bank and allowing settlers (occupants) to have free and unimpeded access to water.
The Commission highlighted that various international studies showed that Jewish settlers consume nine and a half times more water than Palestinians on average, and specified that the amount of water available to Palestinians in the West Bank amounts to 105 million cubic meters, 13 million less than what was agreed in the Oslo Accords of 1995, notwithstanding that Since then, the population has increased.
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