A recent report from Israeli human rights organisation B'Tselem shows that 64% of Palestinians are denied clean and safe running water. In stark contrast, almost 100% of Israelis enjoy clean and safe running water. Israelis use an average of 247 litres of water a day per person – three times the quantity used by Palestinians in the West Bank. The report also shows that 92% of Palestinians in the West Bank store water in tanks on their rooftops to counter Israel’s harsh water policies. B’Tselem has followed Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq in describing this inequity as ‘water apartheid’.

B’Tselem’s report also shows many Palestinians in the West Bank are denied a water supply directly into their homes - “the average daily water consumption is a mere 26 litres per person, much like the average in disaster zones”.

The injustice of this water allocation began with Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank in 1967. Israel immediately seized control of all water resources between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan and has since increasingly used water to oppress and punish Palestinians.

Israel has banned Palestinians from constructing new water installations or maintaining existing installations without a military permit. It has confiscated Palestinian land near water sources, declared land near the River Jordan as ‘closed military zones’ and created near-impossible bureaucratic hurdles for Palestinians to drill water wells, install pumps or deepen existing wells.

Furthermore, Israel repeatedly targets Palestinian water infrastructure. In 2021 it was reported that 25 million cubic metres of untreated sewage from the occupied West Bank was discharged into the environment. Israeli settlements also discharge millions of cubic metres of sewage onto Palestinian agricultural land each year. Israel’s recent  brutal attack on Jenin refugee camp on 3rd and 4th July included targeting and damaging water pipelines.

Access to water is part of Israel’s ongoing apartheid policy against Palestinians. Palestinian men, women and children are being denied water and they are suffering - not because of natural disaster or drought, but because of Israel’s callous and calculated policies.

To help end water apartheid, boycott Coca-Cola, boycott Puma and #CheckTheLabel.

Take a moral and ethical stand and ensure your funds do not support Israel by boycotting the apartheid Israeli state.