Life nearly Unbearable

"Gaza’s power plant shut down entirely in April this year, and Israel further reduced electricity supply to Gaza this week – a violation of international humanitarian law, according to human rights groups. Electricity is currently available fewer than three hours per day.

One of the results – among others profoundly affecting daily life in Gaza – is that there is not enough power to run sewage treatment facilities in the territory. Desalination plants, which provide most of Gaza’s drinking water, are also operating at significantly reduced capacity."

Life in a Septic Tank

 A flooded quarter in northern Gaza’s Jabaliya refugee camp, February 2017. Gaza’s beleaguered sewage system is overwhelmed during heavy rains, causing flooding and forcing families to evacuate from their homes.   Anne Paq/ActiveStills

“We are ‘soulmates’ in the way that counts.”

We post this letter in the spirit of solidarity and the acknowledgement that the Standing Rock Sioux tribe recently won a major victory when the court found that the approval of the Dakota Access Pipeline violated the law. (June 14, Earthjustice.org)

A letter from Gaza to the Natives of Standing Rock

The Nakba.

Israel controls 90% of Palestinian Water Resources. Will Palestinians’ access to water get better due to upcoming meetings?

The Oslo process in 1995 established a joint Israeli-Palestinian Water Committee which sounded good on paper if the small print was ignored. In practice it kept control of West Bank water resources in Israel’s hands by giving it a veto over how water was to be used and distributed.  Having been repeatedly blocked in its requests for permits to build its water infrastructure as Israeli settlements expanded, the Palestinian Water Authority suspended its participation in the Committee in 2010.  

But now its meetings are being resumed.  Why now?  Apparently the US and other countries have pushed for this resumption, which could mean that in the months to come there will be at least a token increase in the amount of water Palestinians have access to.  A likely US motive?  To make the Occupation more sustainable.  Read more:

New chapter begins in Israel-Palestine water dispute

Image by Hugo Goodridge/Al-Monitor