Land and water are at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
While Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories are portrayed as a region where water is scarce and where innovation has enabled Israelis to “turn the desert green,” the truth is far more troubling. Namely, control of water in the region relies on a system of profound inequality based on a 60-year grab of Palestinian water resources.
This fact sheet highlights water injustice in Palestine, including:
- Palestinians have access to only 70 liters of water per day per person, well below the 100 liters recommended by the World Health Organization. In some cases Palestinians have access to as few as 20 liters per day. Israeli citizens – including settlers – consume 300 liters per day
- Approximately 85 percent of the Separation Wall lies in Palestinian territory, and it is one of the major impediments to Palestinian access to water.
- Israeli Authorities have not approved any new wells in the Western
Mountain Aquifer basin since 1967, even though the Wall now blocks access to numerous wells.