Waterproblematiek Palestijnen
De waterproblematiek in de Palestijnse gebieden is zeer ernstig. De hoofdoorzaak is de Israëlische bezetting. Het grootste deel van het water op de Westelijke Jordaanoever neemt Israël de Palestijnen af. Terwijl de illegale nederzettingen veel en voordelig water krijgen, lijden veel Palestijnen onder een ernstig watertekort. In de Gazastrook is de vervuiling van water een hoofdprobleem, te wijten aan de Israëlische blokkade, die de invoer van materialen voor waterzuivering verhindert.
Waterproblemen op de Westoever
■ 70% van de Palestijnen in de gebieden die volledig onder Israëlische controle staan (60% van de Westoever) is niet aangesloten op een waterleidingnetwerk.
"Over 70% of communities located entirely or mostly in Area C are not connected to the water network and rely on tankered water at vastly increased cost; water consumption in some of these communities is as low as 20 litres per capita per day, one-fifth of the WHO’s recommendation." (VN-organisatie OCHA)
■ Slechts 31% van Palestijnen op Westoever is aangesloten op een riolering. Oorzaak: Israël geeft geen bouwvergunningen af.
"Only 31 percent of Palestinians in the West Bank (excluding East Jerusalem) are connected to the sewage network, and only one wastewater treatment plant is operational due to the Israeli authorities’ refusal to grant the necessary permits or security clearance for the construction and operation of sanitation and wastewater treatment infrastructure. As a result, almost all of the 40-50 million cubic metres of sewage that is generated in the West Bank each year reaches natural drainages as untreated sewage" (VN-organisatie OCHA)
■ Israël onttrekt 86% van het grondwater van onder de Westoever, voor eigen gebruik.
"It is estimated that Israel uses over 86 percent of the water extracted from the aquifer, compared to less than 14 percent by Palestinians." (VN-organisatie OCHA)
Een verhelderende infographic van VisualisingPalestine over de waterproblematiek op de Westoever.
■ Nederzettingen zijn wel aangesloten op het Israëlische waternetwerk. Kolonisten verbruiken 6x zoveel water als de Palestijnen.
"All the settlements officially recognized by the Israeli authorities, as well as many unauthorized outposts, are connected to a water network and serviced by the Israeli national water utility from wells in the West Bank and in Israel." (VN-Organisatie OCHA)
"Israeli settlers in the West Bank consume approximately six times the water used by Palestinians in the West Bank." (VN-organisatie OCHA)
■ De half miljoen kolonisten in de bezette Westoever verbruiken even veel water als alle Palestijnen die er wonen bij elkaar.
"The 450,000 Israeli settlers, who live in the West Bank in violation of international law, use as much or more water than the Palestinian population of some 2.3 million." (Amnesty International)
■ Palestijnen hebben gemiddeld beschikking over 70 liter water per persoon per dag, kolonisten over 300 liter per dag. WHO raadt aan: 100 liter per dag.
"The inequality in the distribution of the shared resources is reflected in the immense gaps in the water consumption for domestic needs of Israelis (both in the West Bank and in Israel), which stands at an average of approximately 300 liters per capita per day (l/d/c), compared to about 70 l/d/c by Palestinians, well below the standard of 100 l/c/d recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)" (VN-Organisatie OCHA)
■ Wegens tekorten zijn Palestijnen gedwongen voor veel geld het water terug te kopen dat Israël onder de Westoever vandaan heeft gepompt.
"To boost insufficient supplies the Palestinians must buy water from Israel – water that Israel extracts from the Mountain Aquifer and which the Palestinians should be able to extract for themselves if Israel were to allow them a more equitable share of the aquifer." (Amnesty International, oktober 2009)
■ De watersituatie in Gaza is kritiek.
"The situation in relation to water and sanitation for the Palestinians of Gaza is critical. The situation with regard to treatment of waste water or sewage is no less problematic, with huge investment in treatment facilities and associated infrastructure desperately needed to cope with the existing demand, let alone for the future." (VN-organisatie OCHA)
■ Dagelijks stroomt 90 miljoen liter rioolwater in zee, 90% van de ondergrondse watervoorraad is door vervuiling ondrinkbaar.
"Some 90 million litres of untreated and partially treated sewage are dumped in the sea each day. Over 90% of the water from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption without treatment" (VN-organisatie OCHA)
■ De blokkade die Israël sinds 2007 heeft ingesteld is de directe oorzaak van de kritieke watersituatie in Gaza.
"In June 2007, Israel imposed restrictions on the movement of people and goods at Gaza's border crossings. […] The result has been a breakdown of water and sanitation services, placing public health and the environment at risk." (EWASH)
"The blockade has led to the gradual decline in the condition of infrastructure and the quality of vital public services, such as water and sanitation.” (VN-organisatie OCHA)
"Restrictions on the amount of diesel that Israel allows to enter the Gaza Strip has led to the shutdown of wells that are not connected to the electrical grid and that depend on generators or diesel powered pumps" (EWASH)
MEER LEZEN
ARTIKELEN
■ Water torture for the Palestinians, Haaretz, 18 februari 2014
■ The Israeli 'watergate' scandal - The facts about Palestinian water, Haaretz, 16 februari 2014
■ Undeniable discrimination in the amount of water allocated to Israelis and Palestinians, B'Tselem, 12 februari 2014
■ Mekorot's involvement in the Israeli Occupation, Who Profits, dec 2013
RAPPORTEN
WATER IN THE WEST BANK AND GAZA
ANERA, maart 2012
THIRSTING FOR JUSTICE - PALESTINIAN ACCESS TO WATER RESTRICED
Amnesty International, oktober 2009
HOW DISPOSSESSION HAPPENS
The humanitarian impact of the takeover of Palestinian water springs by Israeli settlers
VN-organisatie OCHA, maart 2012