On Wednesday the 24th of September the Israeli Army refused to let families from Susiya bringing water from their wells to their land despite an agreement that the soldiers would escort families to their wells due to the escalation of settler violence in the area. This move by the soldiers has now left the residents of Susiya without sufficient water.
The Israeli army suggested another well which belongs to the Alhreni family. The surrounding land of this well was declared as a military zone a few months ago and is now also illegally used from the settlers as a swimming place. The well does not offer drinking water quality.
This leaves the residents of Susiya in a very difficult situation as the wells in the area were they can go have run out of water. Susiya, according to the Oslo agreement, is in Area C which according to the Israeli law is under Israeli control. So it is Israel’s responsibility to fulfill the basic human right to access to water .
Palestinians, joined by international solidarity activists, tried to reach the land with a tractor and discussed with the soldiers who forbade them to enter the area. At the same time also a few settlers in their cars arrived to show their presence.
If the people in Susiya are not able reach their wells to get drinking water soon, they will have to buy expensive water to survive, although their well is just a few meters away from their tents.
Living conditions are getting worse because of the declared closed military zones around the area which prevents the Palestinians from reaching their land. If the Palestinians can not get water and food for their sheep on their land they will be forced to leave their homes. It appears that this maybe a factor in the use of Closed Military Zones by the Israeli authorities.
Yet people in Susiya still resist against their forced displacement and actions for getting water and reaching their land are planned in the near future.