Palestinian PM: Zionists Seizing Two-Thirds of Palestine’s Groundwater

RAMALLAH (Xinhua) – Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye says the Zionist regime is seizing two-thirds of the Palestinian groundwater and diverting it into its cities and settlements.
Ishtaye made the remarks at a media briefing ahead of the Fourth Arab Water Conference organized by Palestine under the slogan Arab Water Security for Life, Development and Peace, according to an official statement.
The two-day conference will officially open in Egypt’s capital Cairo on Wednesday.
“Israel steals 600 million cubic meters of Palestine’s 800 million cubic meters and diverts it into its cities and settlements,” Ishtaye said.
An average Israeli consumes 430 liters of water per day while a Palestinian only consumes 72 liters, much less than the global average of 120 liters, the Palestinian prime minister noted.
After 1967, “Israel began digging water wells in the West Bank deeper than the Palestinian ones, which led to its control of most of the groundwater and the drying of the springs,” Ishtaye said.
Such measures by the Zionist regime have affected the transformation of the agricultural pattern in Palestine, he added.
Water is one of the major issues between Palestinians and Zionists in their negotiations that have been stalled since 2014.
According to Palestinian officials, the Zionist regime directly controls 85 percent of water resources in the West Bank, and also has a hold over how the rest is distributed.
The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, is seeking licenses by the Zionist regime to dig additional wells in the West Bank to address the pressing need for more water.
However, Zionist authorities refuse to grant the necessary licenses to the Palestinian water authorities to operate freely in the strategically sensitive Area C of the occupied West Bank, whether drilling additional wells or installing booster pumps.
As Palestinians suffer through chronic water shortages, illegal Zionist settlers nearby enjoy unlimited quantities not only for drinking but for irrigating crops and wash their vehicles.
Black-and-white water tanks are ubiquitous on the roofs of Palestinian homes across West Bank cities and towns, to be filled when their water taps literally run dry for weeks.