PA CONDEMNS ISRAEL SEIZING WATER IN WEST BANK

Ramallah, 28 Dzulqa’dah 1435/23 September 2014 (MINA) – The Palestinian foreign ministry has strongly condemned the Israeli war on Palestinian water in the occupied West Bank, saying it is part of a series of actions leading to undermining the Palestinian existence in Area C, which is under full Israeli control.

In a statement, the ministry said: “In the glare of the sun, the Israeli occupation carries out a war on Palestinian water. It is based on controlling all water and its springs, depriving the Palestinians from using it and making it a subject to political blackmailing,” according to  Middle East Monitor (MEMO) report monitored by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA), Tuesday.

The ministry continued: “The occupation prevents Palestinians from digging wells, seizes and Judaises fertile lands, closes farms by announcing them closed military zones and preventing owners from entering them unless with entrance permits, which are difficult to obtain.”

“The ministry is following up on the issue of closing a number of wells very closely and it has been working on following up on all the Israeli violations aiming to drain the springs of the Palestinian water, as well as to undermine the Palestinian existence in the Palestinian lands.”

The reason Israel is doing this, the ministry explained, is to force Palestinians to give up on farming and become dependents on the Israeli agricultural products.

“The occupation is working to replace Palestinians, who are legitimate residents, with Jewish settlers, who are occupiers,” the statement said. (T/P3/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)