Israeli Water Company Reduces Water Supply to Hebron and Bethlehem

Hebron, MINA – Israel’s national water company, Mekorot on Saturday, reduced the daily amount of water supplied to the provinces of Hebron and Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank by about 6,000 cups per day, said the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA), which describes move it as ‘racist’.

PWA said the move robbed communities of their right to adequate amounts of water, especially given the sharp rise in temperatures. WAFA News Agency reported.

“There is no technical reason behind this reduction,” PWA said, adding that “no errors were detected at the source of the supply, but [the move] came as a discriminatory act adding to the racist policies practiced by the occupying authorities.”

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestinian Water Authority, the average Israeli per capita water consumption is three times higher than the Palestinian per capita consumption, with Israel’s share amounting to around 300 liters per day. This rate doubles for Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank to more than 7 times the Palestinian per capita consumption.

For the record, the average per capita water consumption of Palestinians is less than the internationally recommended minimum, according to the World Health Organization standard, which is 100 liters per day, due to Israel’s control over more than 85 percent of the water sources of the Palestinian population. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)