Water Supply Reduced in Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem Amid Heat Wave
Despite being inside the municipal lines, the Kfar Aqab neighborhood gets its water from a Palestinian company, which said Israel was transferring less water to it. The neighborhood's water ran for only two days this week, according to the locals. Israel's water company: It's the Palestinian Authority's responsibility
Palestinians say water supply was available for only two days over the past week in East Jerusalem's Kafr Aqab, as the local water company says Israel diminished water supply to the area.
Water supply to the neighborhood, home to some 100,000 residents, is handled by a Palestinian water company that buys it from Mekorot, the Israeli state-owned water company, through mediation of the Palestinian Authority.
"We apologize for the issue, which is not under our control, and ask customers to ration water consumption," the company announced, amid a heavy heat wave in the region.
Mekorot said that it was unaware of a decision to reduce the quantity of water supplied to the neighborhood, and that it was the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority to transfer water to the water companies operating in its territory. The Jerusalem municipality did not respond.
Kafr Aqab is within the Jerusalem municipal border and is under the full responsibility of Israeli authorities. However, the separation barrier disconnects the neighborhood from the rest of the city, and it has often been neglected since the barrier's construction.
"Why do all the surrounding settlements have water 24 hours a day and we don't?" asks Munir Zarier, chairman of the neighborhood residents committee.
School principals in the neighborhood said that they are struggling under these conditions and are forced to send the children home early. The local summer camp directors have said that they will not be able to open for the summer unless the issue is resolved.
Jerusalem's water corporation, Hagihon, which supplies water to the majority of the city's residents, does not operate in Kafr Aqab at all. Over the years, the residents have suffered from prolonged water cutoffs and the water pressure is regularly low.
But they testify that, until last week, the water supply was fairly good. Due to water supply issues over the years, most neighborhood residents have placed water tanks on their roofs in order to prepare for shortages. When the water flows, they use pumps to fill the tanks. However, they claim that the stored water, which is often 1,000 or 1,500 liters, is insufficient.
Despite the authorities' neglect, Kafr Aqab has become a sought-after residence, because the Jerusalem municipality barely enforces building laws in the area. Since construction of the separation fence, thousands of apartments have been built without permits, and the neighborhood's current population is over 100,000, the majority of whom are Israeli citizens.
