Numbering about 450,000, the settlers use as much or more water than the entire Palestinian population of some 2.3 million.Īmnesty International Israel and the OPT researcher Donatella Rovera said In contrast, Israeli settlers, who live in the West Bank in violation of international law, have intensive-irrigation farms, lush gardens and swimming pools. Some 180,000-200,000 Palestinians living in rural communities have no access to running water and the Israeli army often prevents them from even collecting rainwater. In some rural communities Palestinians survive on barely 20 litres per day, the minimum amount recommended by aid organisations for domestic use in emergency situations. On average, Palestinian daily water consumption barely reaches 70 litres per person a day, while Israeli daily consumption is more than 300 litres per day – four times as much. The Mountain Aquifer is the only source of water for Palestinians in the West Bank, but only one of several for Israel, which also takes all the water available from the Jordan River. In this Premier Radio programme with John Pantry, Geoffrey Smith of Christian Friends of Israel and I debate the merits of the Amnesty International Report.Īmnesty’s 112-page report – Troubled Waters: Palestinians denied fair access to water – shows how Israel uses over 80% of the water from the Mountain Aquifer, the main source of underground water in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), while restricting Palestinian access to a mere 20%. In a new report published today (27 October) Amnesty International has accused Israel of denying Palestinians the right to access adequate water by maintaining total control over shared water resources and pursuing discriminatory policies. Israeli settlers enjoy lush lawns and swimming pools while Palestinians reduced to a trickle of water Amnesty International Report on Water in Palestine from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.
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