Olga Gouresky | YNet News
27 September 2009
Activists of several left-wing organizations transferred water to Palestinians in the South Mount Hebron area on Saturday. They also tried clearing ways in order to access the Palestinian villages.
One of the activists, Yaakov Manor, told Ynet about the area’s water problem. “We left from several places on two buses and private vehicles. In South Mount Hebron there are villages in which some of the residents live in caves or temporary buildings.”
According to Manor, “They collect the rain water, but it is only enough for a short period of time. In recent years there has not been sufficient rain and they have been forced to settle for water from the Hebron area.
“They bring water from afar, and it is expensive – NIS 50 (about $ 13) per gallon, while Mekorot in Israel charges about NIS 4 ($1).”
“This Palestinian population lives in grave conditions. They want to create a territorial sequence on the Arad-Ein Gedi line. It appears that Israel wants to annex this territory and is doing all it can to remove them from there. The roads are very difficult. The IDF occasionally blocks the road to the villages, preventing the Palestinians from transferring water and food.”
He noted that the settlers in the area do get water. “The Carmel settlement, which is in the area, received water regularly, and they even grow gardens. If in Israel the consumption is 266 liters (8,994 ounces) per person a day, in these places the average is no more than 15 liters (507 ounces) per person a day.”
The water was supplied by activists from the Gush Shalom and Yesh Gvul organizations and other left-wing groups.
The Civil Administration said in response, “In general, the Palestinian Water Authority is responsible for supplying water to Palestinians residents. Nonetheless, the Civil Administration has opened a water filling spot in the Carmel area, where water has been transferred from the community for Palestinian use for many months now.”