Israel has cut off the water supply to large areas of the West Bank, Palestinian authorities have claimed.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have reportedly been left without access to safe drinking water during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan, a period of fasting, at a time when temperatures can exceed 35°C. The northern city of Jenin, which has a population of more than 40,000, said its water supplies had been cut in half by Mekorot, Israel's national water company. Jenin is home to a refugee camp, established in 1953, which contains 16,000 registered refugees.
Ayman Rabi, the executive director of the Palestinian Hydrology Group, told Al Ja zeera that in some areas people had not received water for more than 40 days. He said: "People are relying on purchasing water from water trucks or finding it from alternative sources such as springs and other filling points in their vicinity. "Families are having to live on two, three or 10 litres per capita per day." Saleh Hijazi, Amnesty International's Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories researcher, said the reports were "alarming". He said: "Israel already allows Palestinians access to only a fraction of the shared water resources in the occupied West Bank, with unlawful Israeli settlements getting almost unlimited water supplies."
Israel's national water company denied cutting crucial water supplies to large parts of the occupied West Bank during the month of Ramzan, saying there was only broad reduction in water supply to the Palestinian territory. A spokesperson for the Israeli government said there was "no truth" in the claims, adding that the shortages were down to faulty water lines.
