Palestinian refugees in Jerusalem without water for more than a month

Thousands of Palestinians living in the Shuafat refugee camp, which is located in East Jerusalem, have been living without running water for more than a month, due to the failure of the Israeli municipality in the western part of the holy city to supply the necessary water.

Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth recently featured the suffering of the Palestinian refugees living in the camp, who have to send their clothes to relatives elsewhere just to be washed.

Shuafat lies outside the Israeli apartheid wall, which divides the Palestinian territories in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, but is still serviced by the Israeli government.

To explain the water crisis, the Israeli water authority said that the existing system of water pipes is not capable of handling the population growth in the camp. However, it is well known that Israeli citizens and settlers are allocated much more water than Palestinians.

Furthermore, instead of urging a swift solution to the crisis, last week the Israeli Supreme Court gave the officials linked to this problem an extra two months to find a solution. This means that in the meantime, the Palestinian refugees in Shuafat will continue living without running water.

Since summer is soon approaching, the situation is expected to further deteriorate as the need for running water increases as a result of the rising temperatures and lack of rain. The Israeli newspaper reported that: “Basic tasks like brushing teeth are a challenge. Showers have become a luxury. Families often send their clothes to relatives elsewhere in the city to wash them.”

Israeli authorities in the holy city are renowned for neglecting public services in the Palestinian neighbourhoods, such as road infrastructure, schools and clinics. The residents of the city say that the situation deteriorated even more after the construction of the apartheid wall.

Indeed, the refugee camp has come under siege-like conditions since the construction of the apartheid wall last decade. Anyone leaving or entering into the camp has to go through an Israeli military checkpoint. The poverty rate for Palestinians living under occupation in East Jerusalem has risen during this time and is now almost 80 per cent, according to UN figures.

And yet, to fulfil their water needs today, Palestinian refugees in the camp are forced to buy bottled water.

Some Israeli officials blame the recent drought for the shortage of water; others blame the busy and ailing network of water pipes, or the increasing Palestinian population of the camp. Some simply say that the refugees do not pay for the water.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers in the occupied Palestinian territories enjoy an ample amount of water, used for lavish swimming pools and washing machines. They do not experience any of the suffering of those Palestinians living only a few metres away from them.

When the head of the EU parliament, Martin Schulz, visited Israel in February and spoke before the Knesset, he raised the following question he had been asked by a Palestinian: “How can it be that an Israeli is allowed to use 70 litres of water per day, but a Palestinian only 17?”

In response, several Knesset members heckled him and accused him of being an anti-Semite.