Violation: soaking agricultural lands with sewage.
Location: Wadi Fukin village – Bethlehem.
Perpetrators: the colony of Bitar Elit.
Victims: villagers of Wadi Fukin.
Details:
The local administration at Bitar Elit colony intentionally pumps sewage towards Wadi Fukin twice a month according to Mazen Atiyya, a member of Wadi Fukin village Council. The pumped sewage soaks a plot owned by Ata Aqra’ and extends to cover over 20 dunums of agricultural lands.
There is also a spring in the area; this spring has not been used by the locals for some time because of fears that sewage waters might have mixed with the spring water. The lands have also become unusable as pollution levels are too high, rendering it unsuitable for human usage and any crops unsuitable for human consumption.
Such aggression drastically affected the economy in the village as it hit agriculture very hard. In addition, sewage water offered a suitable environment for the growth and breeding of pests including flies and mosquitoes. The village Council complained to the administration of the colony but they denied the allegations despite proves in pictures and videos.
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Picture 1-2: sewage channel originating from Bitar Elit
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Picture 3: sewage channel in Wadi Fukin lands
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Picture 4: yet another sewage channel
Wad Fukin Location:
It is located 13 km to the south west of Bethlehem. It edges the armistice line of 1948. It is also edged by a number of Palestinian villages, Al Kabu (north), a village that was evicted in 1948 and replaced by Bitar Ilit colony, Nahhalin (east), Husan (north east), Al Jab’a (south).
Area and population:
Wadi Fukin is a small Palestinian village inhabited by only 1198 people. Its total area is 12,000 dunums, owned by its current populates or the refugees who fled after the Israeli conquest in 1948. The Israelis captured 8,300 dunums in 1948 and 700 dunums for the expansion of Bitar Ilit. Now, the built-up area in the village is less than 250 dunums.
