DOCSLIB.ORG

PWA Palestinian Water Authority

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
PWA Palestinian Water Authority Palestinian Water Authority Palestinian National Authority The Gaza Emergency Technical Assistance Programme (GETAP) on Water Supply to the Gaza Strip Component 1 – The Comparative Study of Options for an Additional Supply of Water for the Gaza Strip (CSO-G) The Updated Final Report [Report 7 of the CSO-G], 31 July 2011 Phillips Robinson & Associates Windhoek, Namibia P The CSO-G: Report 7 – The Updated Final Report TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary i-ii 1. Introduction 1 2. The Water Sector in Gaza 3 2.1 The Current Problems 3 2.2 The Status Quo as an Option 9 2.3 Gaza in the Future 9 3. Developing and Screening the Options 12 3.1 Developing the Options 12 3.2 Screening the Options 12 3.3 Water Demand Management 15 3.4 Wastewater Reuse 16 3.5 The Transfer of Water within Palestine 16 3.6 Transfers of Water from Israel 17 3.7 Transfers of Water from Turkey 18 3.8 Transfers of Natural Waters from Elsewhere 19 3.9 Desalination 20 4. The Rolling Programme of Interventions 24 4.1 The Available Options in the Status Quo 24 4.2 Integrating the Options into a Coherent Programme 27 4.3 The Estimated Costs of the Interventions 42 5. The Side-lined Options 46 5.1 High-Volume Transfers from Israel 46 5.2 High-Volume Transfers from Turkey 49 5.3 Desalination Shared with Egypt 49 5.4 Other Options and Sub-options 50 6. Additional Matters of Relevance 51 6.1 Practical Difficulties 51 6.2 Legal Issues 52 6.3 The Affordability and Willingness to Pay for Water in Gaza 57 6.4 Requirements for Electrical Energy 61 7. Conclusions and Recommendations 63 8. References 66 Annex 1 The Terms of Reference for the CSO-G Annex 2 Wastewater Treatment and Wastewater Reuse in Gaza List of Abbreviations BOO Build-Own-Operate BOT Build-Operate-Transfer CAB Coastal Aquifer Basin CBT Covered By Tariffs CMWU Coastal Municipalities Water Utility CSO-G Comparative Study of Options – Gaza EAB Eastern Aquifer Basin ESIA Environmental & Social Impact Assessment FS Feasibility Study GDP Gross Domestic Product GETAP Gaza Emergency Technical Assistance Programme GoI Government of Israel GPCU Gaza Programme Coordination Unit IPCRI Israeli/Palestinian Center for Research & Information IWA Israeli Water Authority JR Jordan River m3 Cubic metres MCM Million Cubic Metres NEAB North-Eastern Aquifer Basin NGEST North Gaza Emergency Sewage Treatment NIS New Israeli Shekels NSC North-South Carrier NSU Negotiations Support Unit OQR Office of the Quartet Representative PENRA Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority PHG Palestinian Hydrology Group PLO Palestine Liberation Organization PNA Palestinian National Authority PWA Palestinian Water Authority STLV Short-Term Low-Volume [desalination] TECC Technical Engineering and Consulting Company TPAT Technical, Planning and Advisory Team UfW Unaccounted for Water UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNEP United Nations Environment Programme US AID United States Agency for International Development US EPA United States Environment Protection Agency USA United States of America US$ United States Dollars WAB Western Aquifer Basin WDM Water Demand Management WHO World Health Organization Acknowledgements The project team wishes to acknowledge inputs from a number of individuals and organisations. First and foremost, we thank our counterparts and friends in Gaza for their help and support.... Rebhi Al-Sheikh, Ahmad Yakubi, Sadi Ali, Monther Shoblak, and many others. Our colleagues in TECC in Gaza – Samir Manneh and Marwan Bardawil – must also be cited here, for their exceptionally strong and timely technical assistance. Many others in Gaza helped the project team, and we are grateful for all of your input—and indeed, your perseverance in highly difficult circumstances. In the West Bank, we pay tribute to Dr. Shaddad Attili, who is in the process of transforming the water sector in Palestine. Michael Talhami, who assisted Dr. Attili on a day-to-day basis during the project period, was of exceptional importance to this project. We also wish to acknowledge the finance provided by the Government of Norway for this study – and for other important interventions in the water sector in Palestine. We believe that the problems in Gaza are not intractable. We trust that this report contributes to their solution. The water sector in Palestine – and especially in Gaza – is no place for the faint-hearted. However, the following is noted: “You never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.” [Mahatma Gandi] “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead, where there is no path.... and leave a trail.” [Author unrecorded] The CSO-G project team seeks to ‘take action’, and leave a trail. We hope and trust that others will follow the trail, should it be sufficiently well-beaten. Dr. Dave Phillips, Team Leader, CSO-G Executive Summary This report addresses the water sector in Gaza, Palestine, with a primary focus on issues at the strategic level pertaining to water supply. This represents the first component of the Gaza Emergency Technical Assistance Programme (GETAP), and is known as the Comparative Study of Options for an Additional Supply of Water for the Gaza Strip, or the CSO-G in acronym. This Updated Final Report for the CSO-G has been produced very rapidly by virtue of a heavily fast-tracked programme of work, and was released on 31 July 2011, less than six months after the project was initially triggered. The pace of the project as a whole reflects the perceived urgency for interventions in Gaza. The CSO-G project is supported by financing from the Government of Norway, and the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) is the primary counterpart. The CSO-G project team has met with most or all of the key players of relevance to the water sector in Gaza, and has reached a range of conclusions as to the required future interventions in the sector, which are reported here. The first conclusion pertains to the existing situation in relation to water supply in Gaza, and the project team has altogether rejected the continuation of the status quo as an acceptable option. This reflects the fact that the groundwater – the main source of fresh water in Gaza at the present time – is being massively over-pumped currently and the aquifer is showing clear signs of imminent failure or collapse, with rapidly advancing saline intrusion. Severe contamination (mainly from wastewaters) is also evident, and almost none of the groundwater meets internationally accepted guidelines for use as a domestic supply. The population of approximately 1.6 million Palestinians in Gaza is therefore exposed to very high levels of risk, and the treatment of the water is too expensive for many of the inhabitants. Even where the groundwater is treated, the resulting water is often contaminated, and high levels of water-borne disease continue to be prevalent amongst the Gaza population. Having rejected the maintenance of the status quo as an acceptable scenario, the CSO-G project team considered a range of potential options for the supply of water to Gaza in the future. The options listed in the Terms of Reference (see Annex 1 ) were expanded, and nuance was added by separating certain of the options into sub-options. The resulting possibilities for future water supply (for various uses) were then screened against four criteria, these being political; technical; social; and economic. A number of the options and sub-options failed against one or more of these four criteria, and the reasons for this are enumerated in the present report. The options that failed on one or more of the criteria were ‘side-lined’ for use in the near-term, but were addressed once again at a later stage of the procedure (see below). The options and sub-options that survived the screening procedure were addressed by the CSO-G project team in detail, and were sorted into a set of interventions that can be introduced in the current scenario in Gaza. A rolling schedule of interventions was then produced, this involving nine projects that are inter-linked and in combination form a coherent programme to address the critical issues in the water sector in Gaza. The nine interventions are summarized as follows: • The establishment of a Gaza Programme Coordination Unit (GPCU), this being required to drive and coordinate the proposed CSO-G interventions as a whole. • The introduction of an integrated water and health monitoring project, this to ensure that comprehensive and fully reliable data are available to act as a driver for the desired future changes in the sector, and also to monitor the success of the entire programme of interventions. • The accelerated upgrading and/or reprovision of the domestic water distribution and supply network in Gaza, this being the subject of specific parallel work that was undertaken by the Technical Engineering and Consulting Company (TECC) in Gaza, linked back to and closely coordinated with the CSO-G effort. • Enhanced levels of water imports from Israel to Gaza, in relatively small volume. This matter is currently the subject of ongoing negotiations between Palestine and Israel, being facilitated by representatives of the Norwegian and American Governments. The CSO-G: Executive Summary. Page i of ii • The introduction of short-term low-volume (STLV) desalination of sea water in Gaza, to provide relatively minor volumes of water of acceptable quality for domestic use in the early years of the CSO-G programme, and to ensure that public health may be protected. The use of brackish water as a possible feedstock for the STLV desalination facilities was considered, but was concluded not to be preferred, due to the urgent need to reduce the abstraction of groundwater and attempt to protect the aquifer.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Flood Vulnerability Assessment Using Multi- Criteria Approach: a Case Study from North Gaza
    اﻟﺠـﺎﻣﻌــــــــــﺔ اﻹﺳـــــﻼﻣﯿــﺔ ﺑﻐــﺰة The Islamic University of Gaza ﻋﻤﺎدة اﻟﺒﺤﺚ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻲ واﻟﺪراﺳﺎت اﻟﻌﻠﯿﺎ Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies ﻛـﻠﯿــــــــــــــــــــﺔ اﻟﮭﻨﺪﺳــــــــــــــــــﺔ Faculty of Engineering Master of Water Resources Management ﻣﺎﺟﺴﺘﯿـــــﺮ إدارة ﻣﺼـــــــﺎدر ﻣﯿــــﺎه Flood Vulnerability Assessment Using Multi- Criteria Approach: A Case Study from North Gaza ﺘﻘییم ﻤواطن ﻀعﻒ أﻤﺎﻛن اﻟتﻌرض ﻟﻠﻔیضﺎﻨﺎت �ﺎﺴتخدام ﻨﻬﺞ ﻤتﻌدد اﻟمﻌﺎﯿیر: دراﺴﺔ ﺤﺎﻟﺔ ﺸمﺎل ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة By Dalya Taysir Matar Supervised by Dr. Khalil Al Astal Dr. Tamer Eshtawi Assistant Professor in Water Assistant Professor in Water Resources Engineering Resources Engineering A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Water Resources Management March /2019 إﻗــــــــــــــرار أﻨﺎ اﻟموﻗﻊ أدﻨﺎﻩ ﻤﻘدم اﻟرﺴﺎﻟﺔ اﻟتﻲ ﺘحمﻞ اﻟﻌنوان: Flood Vulnerability Assessment Using Multi-Criteria Approach: A Case Study from North Gaza ﺘﻘییم ﻤواطن ﻀعﻒ أﻤﺎﻛن اﻟتﻌرض ﻟﻠﻔیضﺎﻨﺎت �ﺎﺴتخدام ﻨﻬﺞ ﻤتﻌدد اﻟمﻌﺎﯿیر: دراﺴﺔ ﺤﺎﻟﺔ ﺸمﺎل ﻗطﺎع ﻏزة أﻗر �ﺄن ﻤﺎ اﺸتمﻠت ﻋﻠیﻪ ﻫذﻩ اﻟرﺴﺎﻟﺔ إﻨمﺎ ﻫو ﻨتﺎج ﺠﻬدي اﻟخﺎص، �ﺎﺴتثنﺎء ﻤﺎ ﺘمت اﻹﺸﺎرة إﻟیﻪ ﺤیثمﺎ ورد، وأن ﻫذﻩ اﻟرﺴﺎﻟﺔ �كﻞ أو أي ﺠزء ﻤنﻬﺎ ﻟم �ﻘدم ﻤن ﻗبﻞ ا ﻻ ﺨ ر� ن ﻟنیﻞ درﺠﺔ أو ﻟﻘب ﻋﻠمﻲ أو �حثﻲ ﻟدى أي ﻤؤﺴسﺔ ﺘﻌﻠیمیﺔ أو �حثیﺔ أﺨرى. Declaration I understand the nature of plagiarism, and I am aware of the University’s policy on this. The work provided in this thesis, unless otherwise referenced, is the researcher's own work and has not been submitted by others elsewhere for any other degree or qualification. اﺴم اﻟطﺎﻟب: داﻟﯿﮫ ﺗﯿﺴﯿﺮ ﻣﻄﺮ :Student's name اﻟتوﻗیﻊ: :Signature ا ﻟ ت ﺎ ر� ﺦ : :Date I Abstract Flooding is one of the prevalent natural disasters that cause serious damage to the population.
    [Show full text]
  • National Report, State of Palestine United Nations
    National Report, State of Palestine United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat III) 2014 Ministry of Public Works and Housing National Report, State of Palestine, UN-Habitat 1 Photo: Jersualem, Old City Photo for Jerusalem, old city Table of Contents FORWARD 5 I. INTRODUCTION 7 II. URBAN AGENDA SECTORS 12 1. Urban Demographic 12 1.1 Current Status 12 1.2 Achievements 18 1.3 Challenges 20 1.4 Future Priorities 21 2. Land and Urban Planning 22 2. 1 Current Status 22 2.2 Achievements 22 2.3 Challenges 26 2.4 Future Priorities 28 3. Environment and Urbanization 28 3. 1 Current Status 28 3.2 Achievements 30 3.3 Challenges 31 3.4 Future Priorities 32 4. Urban Governance and Legislation 33 4. 1 Current Status 33 4.2 Achievements 34 4.3 Challenges 35 4.4 Future Priorities 36 5. Urban Economy 36 5. 1 Current Status 36 5.2 Achievements 38 5.3 Challenges 38 5.4 Future Priorities 39 6. Housing and Basic Services 40 6. 1 Current Status 40 6.2 Achievements 43 6.3 Challenges 46 6.4 Future Priorities 49 III. MAIN INDICATORS 51 Refrences 52 Committee Members 54 2 Lists of Figures Figure 1: Percent of Palestinian Population by Locality Type in Palestine 12 Figure 2: Palestinian Population by Governorate in the Gaza Strip (1997, 2007, 2014) 13 Figure 3: Palestinian Population by Governorate in the West Bank (1997, 2007, 2014) 13 Figure 4: Palestinian Population Density of Built-up Area (Person Per km²), 2007 15 Figure 5: Percent of Change in Palestinian Population by Locality Type West Bank (1997, 2014) 15 Figure 6: Population Distribution
    [Show full text]
  • Summary of Consultation on Effects of the COVID-19 on Women in Palestine
    Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics A Summary of Statistical Indicators on Women in Palestine during the Covid19 Crises Most Vulnerable Women Segments Around 10,745 women Health care health system workers and a total of 31,873 workers men and women 900 women working in workers in Palestine Women working in Israel Israel and settlements and settelements mostly in agriculture 175891 total females with chronic Women with Chronic disease 69,112 women suffer from at least one Chronic Disease (60+) Disease The percentage of poverty Female Childen with disease 9,596 female among households headed children with chronic by women in 2017 was 19% in the WB and 54% in Poor women Gaza Strip Elderly women In 2020 there are 140 287 60+ women 92,584 women heading households (61241 WB, Women Heading households 31343 Gaza Strip – 41,017 of highest in Jericho women have Women with disabilities at least one type of disability 1 Social Characteristics 1. The elderly (the most vulnerable group) • The number of elderly people (60+ years) in the middle of 2020 is around 269,346, (5.3% women, 140,287, and 129,059 men) • The percentage of elderly in Palestine was 5.0% of the total population in 2017 (5.4% for the elderly females, 4.6% for the elderly males), and in the West Bank it is higher than in the Gaza Strip (5.4 % In the West Bank and 4.3% in the Gaza Strip). • At the governorate level, the highest percentage of elderly people was in the governorates of Tulkarm, Ramallah, Al-Bireh, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem (6.5%, 6.0%, 6.0%, and 5.9%, respectively).
    [Show full text]
  • Evaluation Report INDEX
    Evaluation Office PALESTINE Independent evaluation of emergency programmes in Palestine PICTURE OF THE PROJECT 2015 | Evaluation Report INDEX List of acronyms ................................................................................................. 4 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 6 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................... 7 PART I – INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND ............................................................... 11 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 11 1.1 General Information ................................................................................. 11 1.2 Evaluation scope and purpose ...................................................................... 11 1.3 Structure of the report .............................................................................. 11 2 Programme Context and Description ................................................................... 12 2.1 Emergency in Palestine: A Unique Case .......................................................... 12 2.2 Between Emergency and Development: A reference framework for the emergency intervention in Palestine ................................................................................... 13 PART II – RESULTS OF THE EVALUATION (PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS) .............................. 15 3 Evaluation of the Emergency Programmes
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of the 2014 Conflict in the Gaza Strip UNOSAT Satellite Derived Geospatial Analysis 6Methodology Contributors Narjess Saidane
    Impact of the 2014 Conflict in the Gaza Strip UNOSAT Satellite Derived Geospatial Analysis 6MeThodolOGy Contributors Narjess Saidane Support Team 8DAMAGe Carolina Jorda, Celia Navarro, Einar Bjørgo, Francesco Pisano, Harry Kendall, Lars Bromley, Manuel Fiol, Olivier van Damme, Robert Wilson, Samir Belabbes, Vanessa Guglielmi, Wendi Pedersen. ASSeSSMeNT The report has been produced with the kind contribution of the Government of Denmark. BUIlDINGS, STrUCTUreS Disclaimer & CraterS The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the United Nations Institue for Training and Research (UNITAR). The presentations and the designations employed do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on heAlTh the part of the cooperating divisions concerning the legal status of any country, FACIlITIeS territory, city or area or of its authorities, or of the delineation of its frontiers or 12 boundaries. Mention of a commercial company or product in this report does not imply endorsement by UNITAR. eDUCATIONAl UNOSAT is a program of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research 14 FACIlITIeS (UNITAR), providing satellite imagery and related geographic information, research and analysis to UN humanitarian and development agencies, their implementing AGrICUlTUrAl partners and Member States AreAS This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educa- 18 tional or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. UNITAR would appreciate receiv- ing a copy of any material that uses this publication as a source. 22 2009-2014 This work by UNITAR/UNOSAT is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
    [Show full text]
  • Study Vaw Gaza
    VIOLENCE AGAINST VIOLENCEWOMEN AGAINST IN THE WOMEN GAZA STRIP IN THE GAZA STRIP AFTER THE ISRAELI MILITARY AFTER THE ISRAELI MILITARY OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE OPERATION PROTECTIVE EDGE 2014 2014 Prepared by Catherine Müller and Laila Barhoum Commisionned by Alianza por la Solidaridad (ApS) and ActionAid (AA) October, 2015 Acknowledgements 5 Acronyms and abbreviations 6 Executive summary 7 1. Introduction 10 2. Methodology 13 2.1 Qualitative instruments and implementation 13 2.2 Quantitative instrument and implementation 16 2.3 Limitations of the research 17 CONTENTS 3. Background 18 3.1 Existing knowledge on VAW in Gaza 18 3.2 Political violence, conflict and VAWG in Gaza in the past 20 3.3 Operation Protective Edge 22 4. Study Findings 25 4.1 Types and forms of violence commonly experienced by women in public and private spaces 25 4.1.1 Political violence 25 4.1.2 Violence against women 26 4.2 Incidence and prevalence of VAW in public and private spheres 30 4.2.1 Prevalence of violence against women in public and private spaces 30 4.2.2 Prevalence of domestic violence 33 4.2.3 Incidents (frequency) of VAW in public and private spaces 37 4.3 Existing avenues of support 38 4.4 Women and men’s perceptions and acceptance of VAW 43 4.4.1 Causes and triggering factors 43 4.4.1.1 Economic situation 44 4.4.1.2 Gender roles within households 45 4.4.2 Link to acceptance 47 4.4.3 Consequences 49 4.5 The link between military violence and VAW 49 4.6 Better services to protect and support 53 5.
    [Show full text]
  • Demographic Change: Opportunities for Development
    Palestine 2030 Demographic Change: Opportunities for Development Full Report December 2016 Copy rights Prime Minister’s Office – State of Palestine United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA Research and Writing Team Dr. Youssef Courbage, Lead Consultant, Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques, Paris Dr. Bassam Abu Hamad, Consultant, Al-Quds University Dr. Adel Zagha, Non-resident Research Fellow, Palestine Economic Policy research Institute –MAS. Professor of Economics, Birzeit University Reviewed by Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Dr. Majdi Malki, Dean of Faculty of Arts and Professor of Sociology at Birzeit University Dr. Michael Hermann, Senior Adviser on Economics and Demography, UNFPA, NY Edited by Ms. Charmaine Seitz Translation into Arabic Dr. Malek Qutteina Design and Printing TURBO Design Photo credit Chapter 1, page 22: © SHAREK Youth Forum Chapter 2, page 54: © UNESCO Chapter 3, page 90: © UNFPA Chapter 4, page 112: © Dana Al Bouz courtesy of ESNCM Chapter 5, page 124: © UNRWA Chapter 6, page 178: © UNFPA Chapter 7, page 194: © UNESCO Chapter 8, page 222: © courtesy of the Lutheran World Federation Chapter 9, page 240: © UNFPA Annexes, page 258: © UNFPA Cover Photo: The UNRWA Community Mental Health Programme (CMHP) team has been working with Palestine refugees in Gaza since 2002. © 2014 UNRWA Gaza. Photo by Fadi Thabet. Disclaimer: The analysis, recommendations and representation of material in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions whatsoever on the part of the Prime Minister’s Office, the National Population Committee and United Nations Population Fund UNFPA or any other contributing agencies. Foreword I would like to express my sincere gratitude to UNFPA and the UN more broadly as well as the National Population Committee for this important study.
    [Show full text]
  • Poverty Map for the Palestinian Territories
    Poverty map for the Palestinian Territories "PECS and Census 2017" Technical report1 June 2019 1 This technical report is written by Aziz Atamanov and Nethra Palaniswamy from the Poverty and Equity Global Practice at the World Bank in close collaboration with Jawad Al-Saleh and Fida Twam (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics). The team is thankful for collaboration and constant support provided by Ola Awad (President) and Haleema Saeed (Director General) of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and Benu Bidani (Manager, World Bank). We are particularly thankful to Paul Corral (peer reviewer), Ken Simler, Minh Cong Nguyen and Xiayun Tan for very useful suggestions and help. 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Methodological approach ......................................................................................................................... 7 Practical implementation .......................................................................................................................... 8 2. Data ....................................................................................................................................................... 9 PECS and Census ......................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Protection of Civilians Weekly Report 23 – 29 January 2008
    U N I T E D N A T I O N S N A T I O N S U N I E S OCHA Weekly Report: 23 – 29 January 2008 | 1 OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS P.O. Box 38712, East Jerusalem, Phone: (+972) 2-582 9962 / 582 5853, Fax: (+972) 2-582 5841 [email protected], www.ochaopt.org € Protection of Civilians Weekly Report 23 – 29 January 2008 Of note this week Gaza Strip: • The IDF killed five Palestinians, including a 50-year-old farmer along the border in the North Gaza governorate. • 23 January: Thousands of Gaza residents poured through to Rafah and Al Arish in Sinai. Crowds from all over the Gaza strip rushed to buy food, medicine and fuel supplies in Egypt. The Egyptian border guards took no action to prevent people from crossing the border. As of 29 January, the border remained open (Rafah). • The conveyor belt/chute at Karni crossing did not operate this week. Sufa crossing was only open on 24 January exclusively for the entry of 11 trucks of basic commodities donated by Jordan. Kerem Shalom crossing was only open on 23 January for the entry of commercial and humanitarian goods. • 23 January: IDF bulldozers levelled and excavated agricultural land northeast of Beit Hanun, uprooting 350 dunums of olive and citrus trees. • On 24 January, the IDF arrested 25 Palestinians during a military operation northeast of Rafah (Rafah). • Eleven rockets and 15 mortar shells were fired towards Israel. West Bank: • The IDF killed three Palestinians in the West Bank, including a 17-year-old boy from Al Duheisha Refugee Camp who was killed with live ammunition during clashes between the IDF and Palestinian stone throwers in Wad Mi’alla neighbourhood in Bethlehem City.
    [Show full text]
  • Under Fire Israel’S Enforcement of Access Restricted Areas in the Gaza Strip
    Under fire Israel’s enforcement of Access Restricted Areas in the Gaza Strip Under fire Israel’s enforcement of Access Restricted Areas in the Gaza Strip January 2014 Acknowledgements: Researched and written by Laura Ribeiro Rodrigues Pereira. This document has been produced with financial assistance from theUK ’s Department for International Development (DFID). Its contents are the sole responsibility of, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Pales- tinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), and do not in any way reflectDFID ’s position on any of the issues covered. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is a world leader in the monitoring and analysis of the causes, effects and responses to internal displacement. For the millions world-wide forced to flee within their own country as a consequence of conflict, generalised violence, human rights violations, and natural hazards,IDMC advocates for better responses to internally displaced people, while promoting respect for their human rights. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is a non-governmental organisation based in Gaza city. PCHR is dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law and upholding democratic principles in the occupied Palestinian territory. Thanks to Jeremy Lennard for editorial assistance. Cover photo: Home destroyed in central Gaza in November 2012. Credit: Emad Badwan Published by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre Chemin de Balexert 7-9 CH-1219 Châtelaine (Geneva) Switzerland Tel: +41 22 799 0700 / Fax: +41 22 799 0701 www.internal-displacement.org This publication was printed on paper from sustainably managed forests. Table of contents Executive summary . 4 Recommendations .
    [Show full text]
  • Down the Drain” Israeli Restrictions on the WASH Sector in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Their Impact on Vulnerable Communities
    “Down the Drain” Israeli restrictions on the WASH sector in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and their impact on vulnerable communities A report by the Emergency Water Sanitation and Hygiene group (EWASH) in the Occupied Palestinian Territory March 2012* www.ewash.org 1 “Down the Drain” Israeli restrictions on the WASH sector in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and their impact on vulnerable communities 2 * Figures in this report updated in December 2011 Wadi Gaza, a natural swamp, now an open air sewage dump site in the middle Gaza district CONTENTS Executive Summary 5 Introduction 7 The water and sanitation crisis in the OPT 8 1 - Obstructing development in the West Bank: the Joint Water Committee and the Israeli Civil Administration 11 2 - Damage or destruction of WASH infrastructure 15 a. Demolitions in the West Bank 16 b. Destruction of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip 17 3 - Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip 19 4 - Restrictions on aid workers 23 Upholding humanitarian principles 25 Conclusions and Recommendations 26 3 “Down the Drain” Israeli restrictions on the WASH sector in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and their impact on vulnerable communities 4 Drawing water from a cistern in the south Hebron hills (West Bank) destruction. Donor best practice should EXECUTIVE SUMMARY include systematically recording all damage and requesting compensation Palestinians throughout the Occupied Palestinian from the government of Israel on projects Territory face severe restrictions in accessing that are delayed or destroyed. adequate water and sanitation. While the Palestinian authorities, with support from donors • Support transition from humanitarian to and EWASH agencies, have been working to development aid in appropriate areas in improve Palestinian access to safe and adequate Area C as well as other areas of the West water and sanitation services, Israeli policies and Bank (including East Jerusalem) and practices have hindered both the development the Gaza Strip.
    [Show full text]
  • Israel's Unilateral Segregation Plans in the Occupied Palestinian Territory
    Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem (ARIJ) P.O.Box 860, Caritas St. Bethlehem, Palestine Tel: +972-(02)-277-0535 Tel: +972-(02)-274-1889 Undermining Peace " Israel’s Unilateral Segregation Plans in the Occupied Palestinian Territory " Prepared by:Jad Isaac, Nael Salman, Nader Hrimat, Khaldoun Rishmawi, Majed Abu Kubi, Iyad Abu Rdeineh,Issa Zboun,Roubina Ghattas,Fuad Ishaq,Juliet Bannoura, Helen Ghawali. 1 1. Preface The Palestinian issue is the heart of the Arab - Israeli conflict, which has been going on for decades. The Madrid conference in the fall of 1991 offered a historic opportunity to conclude a just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on international legitimacy and the principle of “land for peace”. Yet, after ten years, peace is still far away. The PLO, as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people accepted the Interim Agreement as a step towards a final peace treaty between Israelis and Palestinians. The essence of the Interim agreement stated that: “neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations”. In reality, Israel has continually violated and manipulated the Interim Agreement to create de facto realities on the ground. These actions have continued the severe fragmentation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. This will not only affect the outcome of the final status negotiations, but will abort any possibility to create a viable and sustainable Palestinian state. During the period of July to September 2001, the Israeli government launched its new-old policy of unilateral segregation between the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and Israel.
    [Show full text]