Settlers allegedly steal Palestinian water in the West Bank

August 19, 2007

Residents of the Jewish settlement of Elon Moreh in the West Bank have cut a water pipe carrying drinking water to the nearby Palestinian village of Dir al-Khatab, and the rerouted water pipe is being used to fill a swimming pool. The pipe brings fresh drinking water into the pool and drains dirty water back into the village's water system.

"They not only use water that doesn't belong to them, but they also pollute the drinking water of some of the village residents," Yoel Marshak, the head of the Kibbutz Movement's Special Assignments Branch said to Yedioth Ahronoth. "The little kids pee in the water, which flows straight to the taps of the Palestinian school."

The swimming pool was built at the settlement's picnic site, which is located on the Palestinian village's lands.

A community leader in Elon Moreh replied that the pool in question was a small hole dug near an archaeological site where travelers visit. He claimed that the water comes into it from a small fountain near Elon Moreh which streams to the village.

Of the water available from West Bank aquifers, Israel uses 73%, West Bank Palestinians use 17%, and Jewish settlers use 10%.