Madam, – I would like to reply to Amnesty International’s accusations against Israel concerning the issue of water in the West Bank and Gaza, (World News and Editorial, October 28th).
The facts are very different from the Amnesty claims. The Israel-Palestinian water policy is based on agreements reached as part of the Oslo Peace Accords. Israel has fulfilled all its obligations under the water agreement regarding supply to Palestinians and has even considerably exceeded its obligations.
One of the main reasons for relative water shortages in the West Bank is the poor maintenance of the infrastructure by the Palestinian Authority which allows millions of gallons to escape every year. Amnesty International admits that more than a third of the water transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority disappears through weak infrastructure, lack of conservation and piracy. Another problem is that the Palestinians have not constructed sewage treatment plants, despite their obligation to do so and the millions of dollars the Palestinian Authority has received for this purpose over the years.
Israel has repeatedly offered to supply the Palestinians with desalinated water, but has been systematically rebuffed by them due to political posturing.
There is no basis for the Amnesty claim that Israeli water consumption is four times that of the Palestinians. Historical data analysis shows that Israel has been lowering its consumption while at the same time the Palestinian consumption has been rising. For example, in 1967 Israel’s per capita consumption of fresh natural water was 508 (cubic metres per person per year); by 2008 it had gone down to 149. The Palestinian figures for the same years has risen from 86 (in 1967) to 105 (in 2008). In absolute terms, Israel consumes less fresh water today than in 1967 although our population has more than doubled over the past 40 years.
Water is a very scarce resource in the Middle East. Israel is a pioneer in water conservation, recycling, desalination and irrigation. We have been working with the World Bank, EU countries, Japan and others, to improve the water infrastructure for the Palestinians.
Amnesty International, once again, has preferred to ignore precise Israeli data, papers and reports, although they contain verifiable facts and are presented with total transparency. Amnesty’s questionable approach systematically disregards Israeli material while relying exclusively on Palestinian allegations and so raises doubts as to the real intentions of the report’s authors and of the organisation itself. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – In her report on the launch of our report Troubled Waters – Palestinians Denied Fair Access to Water (World News, October 28th), Michael Jansen quoted a criticism from the Israeli authorities who claim we did not consult with the Israeli Water Authority in advance of the report. This is not correct. On October 1st we wrote to the director of the Israeli Water Authority, Dr Uri Shani, and to its West Bank director, Baruch Na’gar, putting many of the report’s questions to them. We never received a response.
The Israeli government also claims that Palestinians are failing to maintain their water infrastructure or to drill new water wells. The reason the water infrastructure is inadequate is that first, during 30 years of occupation before the establishment of the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli administration did not maintain or develop the water system in the Occupied Territories unless it was to assist illegal Israeli settlements.Second, when Palestinians do get permission from the authorities to carry out repairs or to develop new water sources the Israeli army regularly refuses permission for the work to be carried out.
As the occupying power, Israel has a responsibility to respect the human rights of Palestinians, including the right to water. – Yours, etc,