Israel neither Uses nor Impedes Palestinian Water

Visits: 9

By Naveed Anjum

A Palestinian man rides his a bike through a rain flooded street at the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011. Photo by Mohammed Othman/Flash90

Myths about Thirsty Palestinians[1]

Irresponsible, uninformed masses of the world appear lazy when they accept false reports. These masses accept accusations against good people without questioning the claims or the motives of the accusers, and they fail to expend any effort searching out facts about the accused and the accusations. It is into this environment that unscrupulous, anti-Semitic people fabricate such accusations as Israel stealing water from Arabs, who falsely call themselves “Palestinians”. Of course, that would first require that there be a real nation named Palestine, which there is not.

Nonetheless, these accusations aren’t new[2]. True to their usual deceptions, these dishonest haters of Israel defy truth and facts by creating and promoting lies. This particular false issue about Judean and Samarian (fallaciously called West Bank) water rights is ongoing. Worse, it is repeated around the world[3]. So, what is its purpose?

The false accusation that Israel steals water from Arabs perpetuates conflict between Israelis and the Arabs who are attempting to recreate Israel as a Jew-free “Palestine”. Through this false narrative, these critics of Israel perpetuate the myth that the Jewish State exploits water supplies in the area and withholds access to water from the local populace. What is worse, this myth fans flames of hatred for Jews and their only country, Israel, among uninformed liberal supporters throughout the free world.

Adding to and expanding that myth, Israel is accused of violating its responsibilities to these Arabs by ruthless and illegal abuse of their own natural resources. The international media exacerbates this heinous charade by spreading it throughout the world. As one result, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, caused a minor scandal both in Israel and abroad by repeating this myth from the Knesset plenum.

Like all attacks against Israel, truth is far more complicated than false, simplistic accusations. As is often the case, these false claims are in opposition to truth. When factual data is examined, clarity reveals that, under Israeli control, water supplies to these Arabs have actually increased through greater technological sophistication, the water quality is much higher, and the Arabs have easier access to it. All of this is due to Israel’s diligence, innovation, and humanitarian care.

Factually, almost all claims on this water issue that are leveled against Israel are exposed as nothing more than baseless propaganda. Such claims are either complete and utter deceptions or based on ignorance and a lack of sufficient technical knowledge about moving water through Israel’s topography that includes Judea and Samaria. Before accusing Israel of stealing water, consider the following points in regard to water issues:

  • Israel supplies water to Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria through its own water system, and the settlements have no connection to the Palestinian Authority water system
  • The aquifers from which Israel draws its water, today, are the same aquifers from which it drew its water before 1967, except for the eastern aquifer that provides but marginal amounts of water to Judea and Samaria
  • Israel in no way impedes water flow to Gaza from the Gaza aquifer, and Gaza’s access to that water is not affected by Israel’s use of water flow further north

 

1 Bigman, Akiva. “The Myth of the Thirsty Palestinian.The Tower Magazine, Apr. 2014, http://www.thetower.org/article/the-myth-of-the-thirsty-palestinian/.

2 Staff, TheTower.org. “UK Independent Under Fire for Publishing Anti-Israel Water Libel That Went Viral.The Tower Magazine, 16 June 2016, http://www.thetower.org/3518-uk-independent-under-fire-for-publishing-anti-israel-water-libel-that-went-viral/.

3 Staff, TheTower.org. “Abbas Snubs Rivlin, Repeats Discredited Water Libel at EU Parliament.The Tower Magazine, 23 June 2016, http://www.thetower.org/3555-abbas-snubs-rivlin-repeats-discredited-water-libel-at-eu-parliament/.

Photo of Naveed Anjum, 2015Naveed Anjum, a pro-Israel, Zionist Muslim, is the founder and owner of this blog. He also is the founder of several Facebook groups and pages. To learn more about Naveed, continue to his About page…

 


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