[WCUSP] Fw: [womeninblack] Shopping in Nablus an act of resistance + A Thirst for West Bank Water Environment

[yvonne simmons]

> 
> For correspondence click  here 
> Shopping in Nablus an act of resistance
> 
> Here follow the July 11, 2008, press picks from what was
> published recently by different sources - posted by
> TOI-staff on Occupation Magazine. (We did the updating
> today but OM is updated daily, each day of the week by a
> different editor. For earlier articles use the powerfull
> search function & view the sections.) 
> 
> 
>   ...and the day after, Nablus awoke at yet another shock 
> 
>       ...and the day after, Nablus awoke at yet another
> shock 
>      
>       A Letter from Nablus 
>       passed on to Occupation Magazine by `Jocelyn
> Braddell` 
>        http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=27909
> 
>       hi......and hope everybody is ok.
>       for the last 3 days, the people in nablus awoke at a
> great shock to discover that the israeli army has
> confiscated their property in a very organised and well
> planned way...here is what happened... during the first
> night, and at around 12, many military vehicles accompanied
> by huge containers attacked a school, a clinic and a
> mosque...the entrance doors were broken, exploded and
> damaged...all the inside furniture, equipments, tools,
> files,and other property were carried by the soldiers into
> the lorries... you would never imagine that these things
> would ever be taken... the computers, files, cameras, the
> chairs and tables from the school, even the doors -
> unbelievable - .... these places were left empty with a
> state of mess and damaged things... the school and clinic
> were ordered closed for 3 years... the second night a huge
> shopping center called nablus mall was also attacked in the
> same way... this Building has over 50 stores including a
> bank, many shops for furniture, one of the shops was the
> one that i bought you your presents dear [yyyyy] and dear
> [xxxxx], a restaurant, a supermarket, and many offices...
> the property of 4 places were emptied into the lorries in
> the middle of the night... other shops were messed up and
> others were damaged... a leaflet was left and it said that
> the mall will be closed for 2 years, and that the property
> that has been taken---stolen, confiscated---now belongs to
> the israeli army... anyone dares to enter will be
> prisoned... at the same time, 5 mosques were entered and
> messed up in different places in the city...
>       finally, last night, the building of the municipality
> of nablus--i am sure you remember it dear [xxxxx] -- was
> attacked in the same way... the computers that are used for
> water and electricity services were all taken, in addition
> to files and other stuff... some items were damaged during
> the attack, and night guards in all situations got beaten
> up... you would not believe this: 5 big size buses that
> carry students and belong to a school were driven into the
> lorries and taken... we do not know who`s next tonight...
> may be our house properties, our furniture and kitchen
> equipment... could this be true... no one owns anything
> anymore... we all belong to the israeli army.... our lands,
> our olive trees, our bodies, the water we drink, the air we
> breathe, the food we get from the super market, our family
> members who are in jail, our beds and chairs..... what is
> left for us? our brains??????maybe
>       i do not know what to add, because there is nothing
> to be added. so, take care and stay in touch since i feel
> isolated, and somehow vulnerable and no longer in touch
> ..... i love you both... i really do... 
> 
>       bz 
> 
> 
> 
>  
>  
> also recommended:
>  Fareed Taamallah: A Thirst for West Bank Water Environment
>  
>  http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=27876
>       A Thirst for West Bank Water Environment 
>      
>       Fareed Taamallah
>       The Nation
>       9.07.08
> 
>       http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/taamallah 
>      
> 
>       During Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert`s recent
> visit to Washington, President Bush declared Olmert`s
> `convergence` plan `bold.` For Palestinians, however, it is
> disastrous, because it will annex much of the West Bank`s
> water and fertile land to Israel. 
> 
>       Israel`s `convergence` plan will maintain control
> over most of Palestine`s water supply--dimming hopes for
> peace and a viable Palestinian state. 
>       Under Olmert`s plan, Israel aims to keep the two main
> Palestinian West Bank aquifers: the lower Jordan River basin
> in the east, and the eastern mountain aquifer, trapped
> behind Israel`s wall in the west. This will force
> Palestinians to depend on Israel for water, preserving the
> status quo, a dramatically unjust division of water
> resources. 
> 
>       One example of this vastly unequal division of water
> resources is my West Bank village of Qira. Every summer the
> Israeli company that supplies water to our village and that
> provides about 53 percent of the total Palestinian domestic
> water supply deliberately cuts off our water, thus
> generating a crisis. Last year Qira, a village of 1,000
> residents, had no water for more than three continuous
> weeks, despite the summer heat. 
> 
>       Water reductions and total cuts force villagers to
> find alternative water sources. We collect rainwater in
> cisterns during the winter, but by the start of the summer,
> the cisterns, unfortunately, run dry. Palestinian
> communities are thus obliged to purchase additional water
> from expensive and unsanitary tankers. A high proportion of
> children in Qira suffer from kidney problems thought to be
> related to drinking stagnant water. My 4-year-old daughter
> was forced to have a kidney transplant. 
> 
>       Across the main road from Qira, deep inside the West
> Bank, is the Israeli settlement of Ariel, where water is
> supplied to irrigate gardens, wash cars and fill swimming
> pools. The water in Ariel and other Israeli settlements is
> never cut off. Ironically, we feel lucky because we look
> out onto beautiful settlement houses with green yards,
> while Israeli settlers view the gloomy scene of our poor,
> parched community. 
> 
>       The Palestinian Hydrology Group (PHG), a
> nongovernmental organization, reports that there are .75
> billion cubic meters of total groundwater potential in the
> West Bank and Gaza Strip. However, Palestinians in the West
> Bank and Gaza are allocated only .25 billion cubic meters of
> that groundwater. 
> 
>       The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends 100
> liters of water per person per day as the minimum quantity
> for basic consumption, but many Palestinian West Bank
> villages have considerably less. According to the Israeli
> human rights organization B`Tselem, per capita water
> consumption for Palestinians in the West Bank is just
> seventy liters per person per day. In the nearby village of
> Kafr Ad-Dik, for instance, the allotment is but twenty-one
> liters per person per day. In contrast, Israel`s per capita
> use reaches 350 liters per day. 
> 
>       The Oslo II agreement, signed in September 1995,
> stipulated `the equitable utilization of joint water
> resources for implementation in and beyond the interim
> period.` But in reality, this never happened. Instead,
> according to B`Tselem, a Joint Water Committee (JWC) was
> established to approve every `new water and sewage project
> in the West Bank. The JWC is made up of an equal number of
> representatives of Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
> All its decisions are made by consensus, and no mechanism
> is established to settle disputes where a consensus cannot
> be attained. This method of decision-making means that
> Israel is able to veto any request by the Palestinian
> representatives to drill a new well to obtain the additions
> stipulated in the agreement.` 
> 
>       Additionally, if a well approved by the JWC is
> situated in Palestinian Area C, which is under Israel`s
> complete control according to Oslo, the Israeli Civil
> Administration must also approve the project and issue a
> permit to drill a well. This entails a lengthy, complicated
> bureaucratic process, and the vast majority of applications
> submitted are denied. 
> 
>       The Israeli assumption is that Palestinians have only
> minimal water needs--less than the WHO`s minimum quantities,
> and a fraction of Israeli needs. However, Palestinians, like
> Israelis, need sufficient water to drink and bathe, to
> develop industry and agriculture, and to build a modern
> country. Until that happens, my fellow villagers will
> remain with their eyes fixed on the water-tower gauge. 
> 
>       Israel`s planned annexation of West Bank aquifers
> will perpetuate high Israeli water-consumption levels while
> denying basic Palestinian needs, and will dim any hope for a
> viable Palestinian state and for peace. 
> 
>       rh_______________________________________________
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