[right-to-water] A PALESTINIAN VIEW: Water Wall - by Abdel
onew...@igc.org
============================================================ A
PALESTINIAN VIEW Water Wall by Abdel Rahman Tamimi Bittermelon.org
August 16, 2004
http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/pal2.php
Much has been written about the apartheid wall and the reason for
its existence. Israel maintains that it is a temporary structure
erected for the purposes of security. Palestinians see it as a
simple land grab, designed for the express purpose of ensuring that
any future Palestinian "state" will be no more than a collection
of isolated bantustans, a state on paper only.
Control over water resources may provide a clue as to the purpose
of this wall. Control over water resources has long been one of the
primary objectives of Israeli settlement policy, even dating back
to before the existence of Israel. From the 1930s on, the Zionist
movement focused its settlement activities on fertile land. The
policy has been consistent ever since, from the Jordan Valley to
the coastal aquifers in the west and south. It is no accident that
the Gaza settlements lie on top of the Gaza Aquifer in the Strip.
Since the overexploitation of the waters of the Jordan River and
the Coastal Aquifer, the aquifers of the West Bank, particularly
the Western Aquifer, became the center of focus. Consequently, the
Israeli occupation authorities prohibited Palestinians from digging
wells in those areas, and Israeli officials publicly stressed the
importance to Israel of maintaining control over the mountainous
regions of the West Bank that straddle the aquifer. In 1991, for
example, then Israeli Minister of Agriculture Rafael Eitan told the
Jerusalem Post that Israeli water needs made it imperative for
Israel to retain control over those areas.
Indeed, the Oslo Accords tried to cement Israeli control over the
water resources there, and as late as the Camp David negotiations
the Israeli side clearly stated that it would not accept any
autonomous Palestinian control over the Western Aquifer.
Overlay a map of the wall on a map of the West Bank's aquifers, and
the picture becomes clearer. The course of the wall neatly takes
in the main basin of the Western Aquifer. Former Israeli Prime
Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's defense minister, Yitzak Mordechai,
during his tenure proposed that the green line should be moved 6-15
km east for this purpose. The wall has achieved this in fact.
With complete Israeli control over the Western Aquifer, Palestinian
agriculture will cease to exist in the northern areas of the West
Bank, leaving those farmers no choice but to either become cheap
labor on Israeli settlements or seek alternative employment in the
major Palestinian cities. Some villages, including Nazlat Issa,
Baqa Al Sharqiyyeh, Izbet Jubara, and Al Tayyeh will be unable to
survive, further cementing Israeli control over the land.
This is a process that has already started. The building of the
wall has so far resulted in the confiscation of 36 ground water
wells, a total loss of 6.7 million cubic meters of water per year.
A 35,000 meter-long drip irrigation network has fallen under Israeli
control, and 10,000 heads of livestock have lost access to grazing
land. For the year 2003, the cost to Palestinian agriculture
production has been 2,200 tons of olive oil, 50,000 tons of fruit,
and 100,000 tons of vegetables. In formerly fertile areas a process
of desertification has begun, with 83,000 trees uprooted and 14,680
dunams already turning barren.
To illustrate the effect on a single village, Jayyus, just east of
Qalqilya, has lost 72 percent of its irrigated land to the wall,
seven ground water wells, and 300 families have lost 100 percent
of their income.
The decimation of the agriculture industry could in turn also have
serious repercussions for final status negotiations over water. The
Palestinian side will find it harder to justify its claim over water
resources if its need has declined along with the industry. Its
hand will be weakened. The wall will leave the Palestinian areas
dry and thirsty, and it is designed for that purpose.-Published
16/8/2004 (c) bitterlemons.org
Abdel Rahman Tamimi is the director of the Palestinian Hydrology
Group for Water and Environment Resources Development.
Forwarded by:
_________________________________ Ravi Khanna, Director voices from
the global village 1world communication P. O. Box 2476 Amherst, MA
01004 phone: 413-253-1960 cell: 413-687-8150 (new) e-mail:
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</HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV align=left><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>A PALESTINIAN VIEW<BR>Water Wall </FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial>by Abdel Rahman
Tamimi</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Bittermelon.org</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial>August 16, 2004<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/pal2.php">http://www.bitterlemons.org/issue/pal2.php</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><FONT face=Arial> </DIV></FONT></FONT>
<DIV><!----BODY---><FONT face=Arial size=2>Much has been written
about the apartheid wall and the reason for its existence. Israel
maintains that it is a temporary structure erected for the purposes
of security. Palestinians see it as a simple land grab, designed
for the express purpose of ensuring that any future Palestinian
"state" will be no more than a collection of isolated bantustans,
a state on paper only. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Control
over water resources may provide a clue as to the purpose of this
wall. Control over water resources has long been one of the primary
objectives of Israeli settlement policy, even dating back to before
the existence of Israel. From the 1930s on, the Zionist movement
focused its settlement activities on fertile land. The policy has
been consistent ever since, from the Jordan Valley to the coastal
aquifers in the west and south. It is no accident that the Gaza
settlements lie on top of the Gaza Aquifer in the Strip. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Since the overexploitation of the waters of the Jordan River
and the Coastal Aquifer, the aquifers of the West Bank, particularly
the Western Aquifer, became the center of focus. Consequently, the
Israeli occupation authorities prohibited Palestinians from digging
wells in those areas, and Israeli officials publicly stressed the
importance to Israel of maintaining control over the mountainous
regions of the West Bank that straddle the aquifer. In 1991, for
example, then Israeli Minister of Agriculture Rafael Eitan told the
Jerusalem Post that Israeli water needs made it imperative for
Israel to retain control over those areas. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>Indeed, the Oslo Accords tried to cement Israeli control
over the water resources there, and as late as the Camp David
negotiations the Israeli side clearly stated that it would not
accept any autonomous Palestinian control over the Western Aquifer.
</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Overlay a map of the wall on a map of
the West Bank's aquifers, and the picture becomes clearer. The
course of the wall neatly takes in the main basin of the Western
Aquifer. Former Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's defense
minister, Yitzak Mordechai, during his tenure proposed that the
green line should be moved 6-15 km east for this purpose. The wall
has achieved this in fact. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>With complete
Israeli control over the Western Aquifer, Palestinian agriculture
will cease to exist in the northern areas of the West Bank, leaving
those farmers no choice but to either become cheap labor on Israeli
settlements or seek alternative employment in the major Palestinian
cities. Some villages, including Nazlat Issa, Baqa Al Sharqiyyeh,
Izbet Jubara, and Al Tayyeh will be unable to survive, further
cementing Israeli control over the land. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This
is a process that has already started. The building of the wall has
so far resulted in the confiscation of 36 ground water wells, a
total loss of 6.7 million cubic meters of water per year. A 35,000
meter-long drip irrigation network has fallen under Israeli control,
and 10,000 heads of livestock have lost access to grazing land. For
the year 2003, the cost to Palestinian agriculture production has
been 2,200 tons of olive oil, 50,000 tons of fruit, and 100,000
tons of vegetables. In formerly fertile areas a process of
desertification has begun, with 83,000 trees uprooted and 14,680
dunams already turning barren. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To illustrate
the effect on a single village, Jayyus, just east of Qalqilya, has
lost 72 percent of its irrigated land to the wall, seven ground
water wells, and 300 families have lost 100 percent of their income.
</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The decimation of the agriculture
industry could in turn also have serious repercussions for final
status negotiations over water.
The Palestinian side will find it harder to justify its claim over
water resources if its need has declined along with the industry.
Its hand will be weakened. The wall will leave the Palestinian areas
dry and thirsty, and it is designed for that purpose.-<I>Published
16/8/2004 (c) bitterlemons.org</I> </FONT></DIV> <DIV><EM><FONT
face=Arial size=2></FONT></EM> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2><FONT
face=Arial><I>Abdel Rahman Tamimi is the director of the Palestinian
Hydrology Group for Water and Environment Resources Development.
</I><BR></FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Forwarded
by:<BR>_________________________________<BR>Ravi Khanna,
Director<BR>voices from the global village<BR>1world communication<BR>P.
O. Box 2476<BR>Amherst, MA 01004<BR>phone: 413-253-1960<BR>cell:
413-687-8150 (new)<BR>e-mail: </FONT><A
href="mailto:onew...@igc.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>onew...@igc.org</FONT></A><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Please
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