Violation: an order to expand a cistern
Location: Al-Jiftlik
Date: 27/02/2013
Details:
On 27/02/2013, the so-called Supreme Planning Committee (Subcommittee of Israeli Ministry of Environmental Affairs) issued a military order to execute outline no. (327/57) for a water cistern located in Al-Jiftlik village, north of Jericho. The water cistern is built on Al-Jiftlik lands among other cisterns. The cistern was founded in 2008 according to Confiscation Acts no. (325).
According to an announcement published in Al-Quds Newspaper dated 25/02/2013, the water cistern is to be expanded so that it can accommodate more water and water pipes are to be extended in order for Israeli colonies and farms to take advantage of the cistern. This cistern is one of the important artesian wells in the mid Jordanian Valley which is supposed to help in the agricultural development in the region.
 |
Alas, the Palestinian agriculture industry in the mid Jordanian Valley is getting in real danger due to the Israeli practices embodied in stealing groundwater resources and confiscating agricultural lands. The targeted cistern pumps 80 cups/ hour on average for the Israeli colonies while Al-Jiftlik is lacking water.
|
Israeli policies in mid Jordanian Valley:
Al- Jiftlik is like any other Palestinian village in that it does not escape the occupation’s attacks. It is located on the east side of catchment water in Palestine and whose streams and artesian wells were considered Jordanian sources of water not long ago. Stealing water began when Israelis occupied the rest of Palestine in 1967. Since then, the occupation have been imposing strict rules and procedures that aim at depriving Palestinians from their right to water especially in the Jordan Valley where most of water resources and amounts are taken over by Israelis.
Israelis were not satisfied by controlling the Palestinian share of water catchment in the region, it also announced the adjoining area of the Jordanian River and hills closed military zone Palestinians denied access to. That deprived many Palestinian farmers from accessing and utilizing their lands that were irrigated by the river. Same happened with the artesian wells spread along the Jordanian Valley where the occupation took over all of them, 133 wells and dried a big number of them. Palestinians are not allowed to dig or build a well in the Jordanian Valley.
|
and used as a dumpster by the Israeli occupation
At the beginning of 1984, the Israeli occupation worked on confiscating most water streams running in Al-Jiftlik lands. Since that date, water streams began decreasing so drastically they got dry. One gets surprised when he sees the once flowing streams dried areas filled with trash and dust.
Al-Jiftlik, a once flourishing place with greenery scenery, now a dry area. On the contrary, on the hills overlooking Al-Jiftlik east lands there is Massua colony and on the north hills of the village, there is Argaman colony. Both colonies are flourishing with water resources of Al-Jiftlik. Its groundwater and streams go to two Israeli tanks on a hill near an Israeli outpost. According to Palestinian Hydrology Group, a colonist’s share of water is 6 times more than a Palestinian’s, i. e., 6 – 1.
