"Israelis" Get 4 Times More Water than Palestinians: Report

Source: Al-Manar TV, 20-04-2009

The World Bank said in a report on Monday that Zionist settlers have access to more than four times more water than do Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The report, the first of its kind, underlined that "the joint governance rules and water allocations established under the 1995 Oslo interim agreement fall short of the needs of the Palestinian people." The report, entitled "Assessment of Restrictions on Palestinian Water Sector Development," said that "limited access to natural resources" impedes Palestinian economic development.

"Because of asymmetries in power, capacity and information between parties, interim governance rules and practices have resulted in systematic and severe constraints on Palestinian development of water resources, water uses, and wastewater management," it said.

"Furthermore, since 2000, the movement and access restrictions, consisting of physical impediments... have further impaired Palestinian access to water resources, infrastructure development and utility operations."

The World Bank also noted the "highly disparate availability of water resources" between the occupying entity and the Palestinian territories. "Fresh water per capita in ‘Israel' (is) approximately four times that of the West Bank and Gaza," it said.

'Israel', according to the World Bank, "has established efficient water infrastructure and management" while the PA "is struggling to attain the basic level of infrastructure and service of a low-income country."

An ‘Israeli' official said the World Bank report was "grossly misleading". ‘Israel' has a much more developed industrial sector than the Palestinians and this can skew per capita assessments of water consumption, the official said. "It's like comparing apples to watermelons," the official said.

The World Bank recommended adopting an agenda to address "shortcomings in water resource development and management, a low and declining investment rate, and weak management of water services."