STOCKHOLM, (PIC)
The head of the Palestinian Water Authority, Mazen Ghuneim, said that the daily individual share of water in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israeli war, does not exceed 5 liters, while 15 liters of water per person per day are needed for survival in emergencies, according to World Health Organization.
This came in Ghuneim’s speech at the Stockholm Water Week under the theme “Water Security and Peace in Palestine”, which was organized by the World Bank in cooperation with the Water Authority and UNICEF, where Ghuneim participated via video conference.
Clean water is always a limited resource in Gaza, as the region relies heavily on a network of wells and desalination plants for water supply.
The Israeli occupation policy of frequent forced displacement amid critical water shortage and the spread of sewage surfaces among the displaced tents and on the roads led to the breakout of polio virus in Gaza for the first time in 25 years, and led to the spread of hepatitis A.
Ghuneim called on the international community to pressure the Israeli occupation authorities to immediately cease fire, allow humanitarian aid delivery, including the equipment needed to operate water facilities, and contribute effectively to implementing the emergency response plan in Gaza.
He also called for putting pressure on Israel to stop its racist water policies, to abide by the international laws and conventions, and to realize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including water rights in shared groundwater basins and surface water.
Ghuneim pointed out that the Israeli occupation authorities have also been working to reduce the amount of water supplied to citizens in the West Bank during the summer in favor of the settlements, where settlers receive six times of what the Palestinian citizens receive.
Hundreds of water and sanitation facilities in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed since Israel began its war of genocide on the Strip on October 7, 2023, according to satellite analysis by the BBC Fact-Finding Team.
According to UN reports, four of the six sewage treatment plants, which play a major role in preventing the accumulation of sewage and the spread of diseases, have been damaged or destroyed. Two other desalination plants went out of service due to the lack of fuel or other supplies.
