5-20-2014 Water in Gaza – What the Analysts Are Saying – The Palestine Chronicle (IRIN – www.irinnews.org)

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/water-in-gaza-what-the-analysts-are-saying/#.U4KNjXbyRGY

 

A power crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) has reduced the availability of running water in most households, according to a fact sheet produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), with more than 30 percent of homes in Gaza receiving running water for just 6-8 hours every four days….

 

At least 90 percent of the water supply in Gaza is contaminated with a combination of nitrate (NO3) or chloride (Cl), according to PWA, which says water quantity is also an issue, with average consumption of 90 litres per person per day, below recommended guidelines for minimum health requirements say EWASH.

 

…In a press release issued in February, the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem said the Israeli government was largely responsible for this discrimination due its water policy: "Minimal amounts of water are supplied to Palestinians and water from shared resources is unequally divided."

The Israel Water Authority on the other hand says Israel goes well beyond existing water obligations in providing additional water supplies to OPT. It says uncontrolled drilling in OPT is a major threat to supply: "Over 300 unauthorized wells were drilled by the Palestinians in the West Bank. These unauthorized wells may ruin the shared aquifer as they almost completely ruined the one in Gaza and caused an ecological disaster."…

…As part of its 2014 response plan for OPT, the UN has appealed for US$25 million to help improve access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services for 1.9 million of the people in need. So far, the chronically underfunded WASH sector is just 5.6 percent funded, well below the average of 18 percent for other clusters.

 

 

Posted by Judith Ferster, AIME member

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