Warning of thirst disaster in the West Bank and Israel controls 84% of its water resources
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A Palestinian human rights report stated that Israel controls more than 84% of Palestinian water in the occupied West Bank and is escalating its efforts to seize water resources, leading to a severe crisis in cities and villages.
The report, issued by the National Bureau for Defending Land and Resisting Settlements, affiliated with the Palestine Liberation Organization, added that Israel has demolished at least 500 water collection wells in the West Bank.
It stated that Tel Aviv “exploited approximately 52% of Palestinian water in the West Bank for the benefit of Israelis, while diverting approximately 32% to settlements.”
The report explained that Palestinians are left with only 16% of the water, resulting in a severe water shortage crisis, especially during the summer.
It noted that settler attacks on the Ein Samia spring, east of the city of Ramallah in the central West Bank, a few days ago, exacerbated the crisis facing Palestinians in obtaining their water rights, which Israel is seizing. On July 21, the Jerusalem Water Authority announced that pumping from wells in the Ein Samia area had been halted to dozens of Palestinian towns due to attacks by Israeli settlers.
