Israel uses water as a weapon against Palestinians, making handwashing—an essential first step in confronting the coronavirus epidemic—nearly impossible.
In the West Bank, where Israel controls 80% of Palestinian groundwater, the 650,000 illegal settlers consume 6 times more water than do the 3.1 million Palestinians. Settlers consume as much as 700 liters of water/person/day while some Palestinian communities are restricted to 10–20 l/p/d.
The World Health Organization recommends a minimum 100 liters of water/person/day.
In the Gaza Strip, 97% of the 2 million residents (including 991,400 children) are without clean drinking water. In 2000, the public water network provided over 98% of Gazans with safe drinking water. Due to Israel’s bombardments, and its continual refusal to allow repair and reconstruction of water infrastructure, that figure has plunged. Today, 98% of the water in the Gaza Strip is contaminated.
Sources: reliefweb, UN humanitarian response
