Talking about water

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Since we're on the theme, I thought I could mention the newly published report from Amnesty International this week. It shows how water is distributed very unevenly between Israelis and Palestinians. On average Israelis consume four times as more water than Palestinians do. Israel controls the main sources of water at the West Bank, and spends most of it on Israelis. The average Palestinian uses 70 liters a day, while The World Health Organization recommends 100 liters.

In Gaza Amnesty describes the situation as critical. The only source of fresh water is polluted to the degree that it is unsuitable for human consume. The blockade and the war in December and January are the reasons for this.

To me what this report talks about is something that I have already heard about and seen myself. Driving through the West Bank, it is easy to tell settler houses from Palestinian houses. The latter all have black water tanks on their roofs, because the water supplies -as said in the report controlled by Israel- are sometimes cut off for weeks at a time, so Palestinians have to buy water to use in these cases. The empty roofs of the settlers speak their own language about whose needs are put first. So do the lawns and swimming pools that the Amnesty report mentions.

I have heard representatives of the UN and CARE International talk about the salty drinking water in Gaza and the severe consequences this has for the health of the people in Gaza. "Imagine to make your tea from salty water", the CARE worker asked. Israeli water authorities apparently don't have this imagination. They have already rejected the report as partial and false.

Here you can read what the Norwegian newspaper Dagsavisen writes about the report. Gjermund also has a comment there. You can find more information on Amnesty´s own website.