The steady and escalating cruelty of the occupation

"Although the Jordan River provides Israel with an estimated 450 million cubic metres of water per year, Palestinians in the Jordan Valley are denied access to and supply of its water.

Suleiman says, in 1976 Israel made an agreement with farmers stipulating that water should not be extracted from the village wells 'in exchange for the Israeli authorities giving them water at a reduced price'.

'After the villagers implemented the agreement and stopped using their water wells, the occupation authorities gradually began to reduce the amount of water granted to them putting their cultivation at risk.' ”

Israel is forcing out Palestine’s watermelon farmers before it takes their land

Farmer Sleiman Sawafta at his watermelon field. Bardala village June 2020. [Fareed Taamallah]

General view of Jordan valley [Fareed Taamallah]