Israel, the Israeli water company Mekorot, and Israeli settlers have expropriated springs in the Israeli-occupied West Bank by Israel. The springs and wells, to which Palestinians have a human right in international law, are appropriated exclusively for use by Israelis and visiting tourists. [1] [2]
The topographical feature of a spring in semitic languages, and specifically in both Arabic : (عين) and Hebrew : (עַיִן), variously transliterated as ayn, en, ein, also means "eye" (socket), [3] a spring in the arid terrain of the Middle East being naturally understood to be a kind of "eye of the landscape". [4] Given their importance, many toponyms in Palestine incorporate the word in terms for towns and localities. [4] [lower-alpha 1]
The groundwater resources on which Israel depends draw on 3 aquifers, only one of which is in Israel and of the recharge area of the water tables only 5% lies in Israel. The West Bank's resources are either surface run-off channelled in streams and rivers or groundwater and the population down to the 1980s had not been allowed to access more than 14-18% of the total water available. [5] Israel's perceived and programmed water security depends on minimizing Palestinian use of the aquifers in their own territory of the West Bank. [6]
Historically, spring water had always been managed by villages adjacent to springs, which lay within their boundaries. The earlier British mandatory authority had difficulties formulating a water law given the diversity of regional practices, and all efforts by them to do so failed. In that period, however, the Zionist leadership often argued its case for increasing Jewish immigration by asserting that efficient modern techniques of water management would ensure a limitless capacity for absorbing these immigrants: water, they argued, was abundant, all that was lacking was expertise in developing modern infrastructure. The future Israeli water company Mekorot was set up in 1937 to this end. However, with the establishment of the state of Israel, the range estimates for available water resources in Palestine were scaled back significantly, and the imagined abundance was replaced by a recognition of water scarcity. [7] Israel centralized and nationalized its water resources in 1959.
Until 1950, when Jordan claimed the West Bank by annexation – a move not recognized by the international community – most Palestinian villages drew the majority of their water from springs and by collecting rainwater. [8] In the wake of the 1948 Palestine war, the inhabitants of the historic core of Jerusalem and its eastern neighbourhoods had lost access to the Ras al-'Ayn and 'Arrub springs, and, until pumping station facilities were repaired, the severities of rationing were eased by drawing on the springs in Silwan and Sur Bahir. [lower-alpha 2]
The springs had traditionally been managed by a communal property regime. [8] Irrigated agriculture in villages mainly depended on these springs. [6] Improved technology allowed wells to be dug in the ensuing decade. Villagers pooled funds in order to create "well companies" in order to secure finance for drilling. Jordan set up a Jerusalem Water Utility in the mid-1960s, but it serviced only the three cities of Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Ramallah. This project stopped when Israel conquered and occupied the West Bank in 1967. [lower-alpha 3]
Israel thereafter did not extend its water laws to the captured territories, which were run by a military administration. That authority quickly issued Military Order no. 92 investing a military officer with all powers regarding the management of water resources in what became the Palestinian territories. Military Order no. 158 later stipulated that wells could be drilled only after obtaining a military permit, and, over the ensuing 23 years, only twenty three such permits were issued. [8] [lower-alpha 4] Springs waters, however, were rarely touched, and the existing regime allowing villages to continue with their property management regarding the use of such resources. [8]
The minimum mean for daily per capita water consumption set by WHO is 100 litres per day: the average in the West Bank is 66 litres. [9] The state-owned Israeli company Mekorot taps springs and drills wells in the West Bank and furnishes settlements with water for all purposes, industrial, agricultural and domestic. It also sells some to Palestinian water utilities, according to schedules Israeli authorities determine to fix the allowable amount. For many villagers whose access to local sources is severely restricted, the result is that they must often purchase trucked-in water priced much higher than that supplied to settlements, [lower-alpha 5] and in the poorest communities the monthly outlay for imported water can rise to half of a family income. [1]
At least 300 springs exist in the West Bank. [10] In the process of establishing Israeli settlements, many of these springs were targeted by the settlers, and the struggle to wrest possession of the areas of the landscape that feature them was, and remains, a notable source of conflict between local Palestinians and the immigrant Jewish communities. [11] [12] In a survey conducted in 2011, the United Nation's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs occupied Palestinian territory identified 56 springs that had either been taken over by settlers (30), or were the object of targeting for eventual inclusion into the settlement areas (26). 93% of these were in Area C, on parcels of land that, according to the records of the Israeli Civil Administration, in large part (84%) are registered as private Palestinian property. [13] [lower-alpha 6]
One technique relies on the practice by the IDF of declaring large areas of West Bank land military fire zones where (Palestinian) civilians may not enter. The six settler Regional Councils in the West Bank are supposed to operate under a military ordinance regulating their activities within defined municipal boundaries, but, according to Haaretz's Yotam Berger the civil/military administration turns a blind eye to the phenomenon or even encourages the settler groups to develop infrastructure on lands beyond their municipal jurisdiction that are otherwise closed military zones or private Palestinian property. [14]
Many of the sequestered springs are designated as Israeli parks, in a broader process of what has been called "colonial ecologism", [15] or "apartheid springs." [11]
The following is a list of 30 springs that had fallen under the complete control of Israeli settlements by 2011. [16]
Spring name | Palestinian village | Israeli settlement/outpost | hebraicized name |
---|---|---|---|
Ein el-Azkut | Bardala [lower-alpha 7] | Jordan Valley Regional Council | Ein Sukot |
Ein Um Al Jarah | Awarta | Itamar | Ein Nerya |
Ein El Mukheimer | Al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya | Eli | N/A |
Ein El Michna | Burin | Har Brakha | Ein Yosef/Ein Amasa |
Ein El Jneinah | Burin | Yitzhar | Ein Magnunim |
Ein El Sha'ara | Burin | Yitzhar | N/A |
Ein El Kbireh | Deir al-Hatab | Elon Moreh | Ein Kfir |
Ein El Ariq | Qaryut | Eli | Ein Hagvura |
Ein Ad Dweer | Al Jib | Giv'at Ze'ev | Ein Dvir |
Al Uyoon | An-Nabi Samwil | Samuel National Park | N/A |
Ein El-Balad | An-Nabi Samwil | Samuel National Park | Ein Tiltan |
Ein Um Ntukh | Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya | Nahliel Nerya | N/A |
Ein Al Marj | Bayt Nuba | Canada Park | Beit Hakshatot |
Ein Khaled | An Nabi Salih | Halamish | |
Ein Al Qaws | An Nabi Salih | Halamish | Ein Meir |
Ein Husein | Ein Yabrud | Beit El | N/A |
Ein Addallah | Ein Yabrud | Beit El | N/A |
Ein Issa | Al Bireh | Beit El | N/A |
Ein El Masraj | Al-Janiya | Talmon | Ein Talmon |
Ein El Mallah | Al-Janiya | Talmon | N/A |
Ein El Thahra | Al Bireh | Beit El | N/A |
Ein Ash Shunnar | Beitilu | Nahliel | N/A |
Ein El Butmeh | Ras Karkar | Talmon Zait Raanan | N/A |
Ein al-Sajma [lower-alpha 8] | Khallet al Baluta | Bat Ayin | Ein Yitzhak |
Ein Abu Zaid | Nahalin | Rosh Tzurim | Ein Tzurim |
Ein El Abhara | Jab'a | Bat Ayin | Ein Livne |
Ein Ras al 'Idd | al-Khader | Efrat | Ein Ha'ama |
Ein Hubileh | Khirbet Safa | Bat Ayin | Ein Hunile |
Ein Abu Kleibeh | Nahalin | Havot Eyalin | Ein Misla |
Uyoon al Beid | Yatta | Avigayil | Beseter Ha-har |
The following is a list of Palestinian springs that were considered by United Nations investigators to be at risk of a settler takeover in 2011. [17]
Spring name | Palestinian village | Israeli settlement/outpost | Settler development |
---|---|---|---|
Ein Shu'al El Bir | Beit Furiq | Itamar outposts | No |
Ein Jheir | Majdal Bani Fadil | Ma'ale Efrayim | Yes |
Ein Fasyil | Duma | Petza'el | Yes |
Ein Al Majur | Qarawat Bani Hassan | Havot Yair | Yes |
Ein El Nwetef | Qarawat Bani Hassan | Havot Yair | Yes |
Ein Dura | Dura al-Qar'a | Beit El | Yes |
Ein Al Uja | Khirbet El Uja | Yitav/Omer Ranch | Yes |
Ein El Majur | Deir Ibzi | Dolev | No |
Ein Al Raya | An Nabi Salih | Halamish/Neve Tzuf | No |
Ein Az Zarir | 'Atara | Ateret | Yes |
Ein Sheban | Al Bireh | Binyamin(?) | Yes |
Ein Az Zama'a | Beitilu | Halamish | Yes |
Uyoon Wadi Az Zarqa | Beitilu | Nahliel | Yes |
Ein Al Loz | Ras Karkar | Talmon Neria | No |
Ein Ash Shuneh | Ras Karkar | Talmon/Zait Raanan | Yes |
Uyoon El Haramiyeh | Silwad | Biyamin? | Yes |
Ein Al Aliya'a | Deir Dibwan | Ofra | Yes |
Ein Al Hakam | Aboud | Beit Aryeh-Ofarim | No |
Ein Samya | Ein Samiya | Kokhav HaShahar | Yes |
Ein Al Harasha | Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya | Harasha/ Talmon | Yes |
Ein Al Marsal | Ramallah | Dolev | No |
Ein Bubin | Deir Ibzi | Dolev | Yes |
Ein Ar Rashah | Al-Mughayyir | Shilo outpost | Yes |
Wadi Fuqin/Ein At Tina | Wadi Fukin | Beitar Illit | No |
Ein Al Qasis | al-Khader | Neve Daniel | No |
Ein Al Hilwe | Ain al-Hilweh | Maskiot | No |
The West Bank Ein Hanya spring, which from Ottoman times down to the end of the British Mandate was recognized as the property of al-Walaja, [18] now lies within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of the village are cut off from it by Israeli West Bank barrier. [19] It was frequented by Israelis and Palestinians. Problems started when it was designated as a tourist attraction and enclosed within what Israel calls one of its national parks, the Emek Refaim Park. The opening was delayed for two years as police, together with the Jerusalem Municipality and the Nature and Parks Authority, [19] insisted that Palestinians be refused entry, and that the government shift the Ein Yael checkpoint south in order to block Palestinian access, an operation that would cost $3.4 million. It was opened to Jews for three days during the Sukkot festival, which coincided with the Palestinian olive picking season [19] but Palestinians, even those wishing to harvest the fruits of their olive groves, are denied access, [20] [19] [lower-alpha 9] a ban extending also to the inhabitants of al-Walaja itself, who own 297 acres (120 ha) of the area. [19]
Spring name | Palestinian village | Israeli settlement/outpost | hebraicized name |
---|---|---|---|
? | ? | Mateh Binyamin Regional Council | Ein Oz [14] |
Ein al-Major | Ein Qiniya | Dolev | Ein Mazor [21] |
Three members of the Shnerb family, from Lod in Israel, were hiking in the West Bank when a bomb planted at Ein Bubin was made to explode, killing the girl, and injuring her brother and father. [22] The murder took place near to the Palestinian village of Deir Ibzi, [23] whose lower lands near the spring area are abandoned because they are denied access save for two or three days a year. [11] Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law, something Israel disputes, and over 600,000 Jews have come to live in roughly 140 of such settlements since Israel occupied the area militarily in 1967. [23] Springs in particular are flashpoints in the conflict between Israelis who come to settle in the West Bank and the local Palestinian villagers, [lower-alpha 10] with, according to Dror Ektes, over 60 springs so far seized in the past 10 years, and thereupon reserved for Israeli use only. [lower-alpha 11]
According to Amira Hass, the site is one of nine in an area where, over three decades, the settlements of Dolev and Nahliel, and illegal Israeli outposts between them, have seized control over some 3,700 acres (1,500 ha) of Palestinian land. Palestinians in six adjacent villages, Kobar, Ras Karkar, Al-Janiya, Deir 'Ammar, Al-Mazra'a al-Qibliya and Beitillu – all cut off from each other through prohibitions on road use – have been denied access to their groves, springs and grazing land by a variety of settler and army measures – vandalism of trees, military orders, and assaults.
Five of the villages' nine springs have, she claims, been appropriated from Palestinians, [12] who formerly used them for swimming, picnicking and for agricultural purposes. The seizures adapt them as recreational sites exclusively for settlers and touring Israeli Jews. The loss of land and water resources has, she continues, dealt an economic blow to inhabitants of the six villages, causing many families to rely now on aid. With regard to the incident specifically Hass concluded that, "those who prepared the bomb certainly know that this is Israel's strategy in the West Bank. Individual settlements are turned into broad blocs, for Jews only, and are boasting of abundance, serenity, commercial centers, vineyards, orchards, hiking trails and Judaized natural springs." [12]
Bat Ayin is an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Hebron, founded in 1989 by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburg, in lands that Israel confiscated from the neighbouring Palestinian villages of Khirbet Beit Zakariyyah and Jab'a. It is administered by the Gush Etzion Regional Council, with a population of less than 1,000, consisting mainly of "Ba'alei T'shuva" Jews with Hasidic tendencies. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but Israel disputes this.
Ofra is an Israeli settlement located in the northern Israeli-occupied West Bank. Located on the main road between Jerusalem and Nablus, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 3,497.
Eli is a large Israeli settlement in the West Bank organized as a community settlement, located on Highway 60, north of Ramallah, between the Palestinian villages of As-Sawiya and Qaryut, part of whose lands were expropriated for the establishment of Eli. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, but the Israeli government disputes this.
Al-Walaja is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, four kilometers northwest of Bethlehem. It is an enclave in the Seam Zone, near the Green Line. Al-Walaja is partly under the jurisdiction of the Bethlehem Governorate and partly of the Jerusalem Municipality. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,671 in 2017. It has been called 'the most beautiful village in Palestine'.
Deir al-Hatab is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate in the northern West Bank, located east of Nablus, near the neighbouring villages of Salem and Azmout. The village land extends over 12,000 dunams, of which 330 are built-up.
Ein al-Beida is a Palestinian village of in the Tubas Governorate in the northeastern West Bank. It has a population of about 1,138.
Susya is a location in the southern Hebron Governorate in the West Bank. It houses an archaeological site with extensive remains from the Second Temple and Byzantine periods, including the ruins of an archeologically notable synagogue, repurposed as a mosque after the Muslim conquest of Palestine in the 7th century. A Palestinian village named Susya was established near the site in the 1830s. The village lands extended over 300 hectares under multiple private Palestinian ownership, and the Palestinians on the site are said to exemplify a southern Hebron cave-dwelling culture present in the area since the early 19th century whose transhumant practices involved seasonal dwellings in the area's caves and ruins of Susya.
Dolev is an Israeli settlement organized as a community settlement in the West Bank. Located 17 mi (27 km) north-west of Jerusalem, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,613.
Halamish, also known as Neveh Tzuf, is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, located in the southwestern Samarian hills to the north of Ramallah, 10.7 kilometers east of the Green line. The Orthodox Jewish community was established in 1977. It is organised as a community settlement and falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,590. Within the settlement on a hill is an ancient archeological site dating back to the Hasmonean period by the name of: Hovlata
Esh Kodesh is an Israeli outpost in the West Bank near Shilo. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council. Israeli outposts in the West Bank are considered illegal both under international law as well as under Israeli law. The population in 2005 was under 12 families.
The Oslo II Accord divided the Israeli-occupied West Bank into three administrative divisions: the Palestinian enclaves as "Areas A and B" and the remainder, including Israeli settlements, as "Area C".
Nabi Salih is a small Palestinian village in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located 20 kilometers northwest of Ramallah. It had a population of 522 in 2017. It is noted for the weekly marches to protest the occupation undertaken since 2010, a practice suspended in 2016, after 350 villagers were estimated to have suffered injuries in clashes with Israeli troops over that period.
The water resources of Palestine are de facto fully controlled by Israel, and the division of groundwater is subject to provisions in the Oslo II Accord.
Bassem Tamimi is a Palestinian grassroots activist and an organizer of protests against Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank. He was convicted by an Israeli military court in 2012 for "sending people to throw stones, and holding a march without a permit".
Khirbet Zanuta is a Palestinian Bedouin village in the Hebron Governorate in the southern West Bank, located 20 kilometers south of Hebron. Nearby localities include ad-Dhahiriya to the northwest and Khirbet Shweika to the northwest, as well as two Israeli settlements, Teneh Omarim to the west and Shim'a to the east. The Meitarim industrial zone just to its east was built for the settlers. The village is adjacent to the Green Line. The population of the village was 131 in 2017.
The Israeli–Palestinian Joint Water Committee (JWC) is a joint Israeli–Palestinian authority, created in 1995 by the Oslo II Accord. Its purpose is to manage water and sewage related infrastructure in the West Bank, particularly to take decisions on maintenance of existing infrastructure and approval of new projects. Although it was originally intended to be a temporary organ for a five years interim period, it still exists as of 2015.
Palestinians are the target of violence by Israeli settlers and their supporters, predominantly in the West Bank. In November 2021, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed the steep rise in the number of incidents between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank, many of which result from attacks by residents of illegal settler outposts on Palestinians from neighboring villages. Settler violence also includes acts known as price tag attacks that are in response to actions by the Israeli government, usually against Palestinian targets and occasionally against Israeli security forces in the West Bank.
Khirbet Susya is a Palestinian village in the West Bank. Palestinian villagers reported as living in caves and nearby tents are considered as belonging to a unique southern Hebron cave-dwelling culture present in the area since the early 19th century. The village had a population of 199 residents in 2017.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under military occupation by Israel since 7 June 1967, when Israeli forces captured the territory, then ruled by Jordan, during the Six-Day War. The status of the West Bank as a militarily occupied territory has been affirmed by the International Court of Justice and, with the exception of East Jerusalem, by the Israeli Supreme Court. The official view of the Israeli government is that the laws of belligerent occupation do not apply to the territories, which it considers instead "disputed", and it administers the West Bank, excepting East Jerusalem, under the Israeli Civil Administration, a branch of the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Considered to be a classic example of an "intractable conflict", the length of Israel's occupation was already regarded as exceptional after two decades, and is now the longest in modern history. Israel has cited several reasons for retaining the West Bank within its ambit: a claim based on the notion of historic rights to this as a homeland as claimed in the Balfour Declaration of 1917; security grounds, both internal and external; and the deep symbolic value for Jews of the area occupied.
On 23 August 2019, 17-year-old Israeli Rina Shnerb was killed by a roadside bomb while hiking with her father, Rabbi Eitan Shnerb, and brother Dvir near Dolev, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank; her father and brother were wounded. Shnerb's funeral was held in Lod on 23 August.