The
targeting of Palestinian water infrastructure is a systemic and
two-pronged Israeli policy to prevent the existence of sustainable
Palestinian communities. In this policy brief, Al-Shabaka Policy
Member and environmental researcher Muna Dajani builds on the
evidence of Israel’s targeting of water infrastructure and shows
how the policy is not only preventing economic growth but is also
driving Palestinians off their land. She looks at the resulting
commodification of water and cautions that the process is changing
traditional patterns of community water management and could forever
change the shape of Palestinian society.
Key
parts:
“Amongst
the causalities of Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip has
been the coastal enclave’s water infrastructure, which has not been
spared deliberate targeting by Israeli missiles. This attack on water
infrastructure is neither a new practice nor one that is specific to
Gaza but is rather part and parcel of a sustained Israeli campaign to
de-develop Palestinian communities and make everyday life
unbearable.”
“The
policy of denying Palestinian communities access to water can be seen
as a tool of warfare, exercised relentlessly by Israel’s occupation
and military authorities and ultimately undermining Palestinian
resistance. The ramifications of this policy are vast. They include
long-term environmental degradation, both short- and long-term
dangers to public health, and the effective denial of access to clean
drinking water to a substantial civilian population.”
“The
targeting of water infrastructure is prohibited under Protocol I of
the Geneva Convention (1977), which states: 'It is prohibited to
attack, destroy, remove or render useless objects indispensable to
the survival of a civilian population, such as foodstuffs,
agricultural areas for the production of foodstuffs, crops,
livestock, drinking water installations and supplies and irrigation
works, for the specific purpose of denying them for their sustenance
value to the civilian population or to the adverse Party, whatever
the motive, whether in order to starve out civilians, to cause them
to move away, or for any other motive.'”
“The
United Nation’s Goldstone Report that was commissioned to document
human rights violations in the wake of the 2008-2009 Israeli attack
on Gaza ('Operation Cast Lead') affirmed what it saw as Israel’s
'deliberate and systematic' destruction of water infrastructure.”
“This
year’s 51-day summer assault on Gaza is no exception. During the
course of the bombardment, Israeli political figures reportedly
called for water supply to Gaza to be cut off along with its
electricity. This is part of a rhetoric of warfare that sees water
and energy infrastructure as a political weapon of coercion.”
“In
the first days of the most recent military operation in Gaza, 'Pillar
of Defense,' Israeli aircraft targeted the sewage pump station west
of Gaza City. In striking its target, Israel disabled infrastructure
that pumps 25,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day to Gaza’s main
sewage treatment plant. Following the attack, the Gaza Municipality
announced that it would no longer be able to treat sewage. Continued
strikes on the facility also forced management to halt its attempts
to repair the damage in order to avoid injury to staff members after
seven employees were killed while inspecting the initial damages.
Further Israeli shelling east of Gaza City hit a main water pipeline,
disconnecting areas east of the city and cutting off the water supply
to more than 1.5 million inhabitants.”
“Since
the beginning of the summer assault on Gaza, the main wastewater
treatment plant has been destroyed, including the network pipelines
that connect to it. Four wells, five reservoirs, and countless
network pipelines have also been rendered unusable. As a result, more
than 100,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage has flowed through the
streets of Gaza and into the sea.”
“As
whole neighborhoods overflow with sewage water, there is increasing
concern of widespread health epidemics. Over-burdened hospitals must
now also deal with digestive ailments, skin allergies, and water
borne and respiratory diseases. One Oxfam spokesperson stated, 'We’re
working in an environment with a completely destroyed water
infrastructure that prevents people in Gaza from cooking, flushing
toilets, or washing hands. The current public health risk is massive,
and […] Gaza’s infrastructure will take months or years to fully
recover.'”
“With
severe restrictions on what is allowed to enter Gaza, reconstruction
of the sewage treatment plant following attacks sustained in 2008 has
been impossible. Beyond reconstruction, regular repairs are also made
impossible and upgrading to more efficient or sustainable systems out
of the question. Innovations in water treatment and the building of
quality of life that depends on regular access to water are thus
prohibited; likewise, available resources are rapidly depleting,
making future projects more difficult.”
“Even
more insidious has been the slow but deliberate damage to water
infrastructure in the West Bank. The same policy of intentional
damage to water equipment during times of military assault has also
been witnessed across the area, with the most obvious being Israel’s
invasion of Jenin city in 2001 and 2002, which caused massive damage
to water and wastewater infrastructure, cutting off water services
for weeks.”
“Without
access to regular, clean, and reliable sources of water, industrial,
agricultural, and trade activities decline, causing economic
meltdown. This is especially true for highly vulnerable and
resource-dependent economic activities in Palestine, such as
agriculture. Under such conditions, only 6.8 percent of agricultural
land in the West Bank is irrigated, and the same small percentage
yields half of the agricultural produce in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory. This number suggests the staggering loss of economic
opportunities in the agricultural sector, due solely to lost water on
account of Israel’s restrictions and demolitions.”
“There
can clearly be said to be a systemic water war waged against a
Palestinian population. This war in the long run will destroy the
organic relationship that cities, towns, and villages have with local
water resources and change once locally-managed water resources into
a commodity – one that is, moreover, controlled by Israel. Today’s
residents of Ramallah, for example, buy their water from Mekorot, the
Israeli government-appointed water company. Water is no longer a
community resource, and its commodification at the hands of Israel’s
occupation is further changing the shape of Palestinian society.”
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