Al-Aghwar: Palestinians in the Al-Aghwar region are grappling with a severe water crisis as the Al-Auja Spring, a crucial water source, has dried up earlier than anticipated this year, exacerbating the already dire situation.
According to Kuwait News Agency, this year's early drought, which hit before the height of summer, has caused significant challenges. Experts have cited insufficient rainfall and ongoing encroachments by Israeli occupation forces and settlers on local water sources as primary contributors to the crisis. The Israeli occupation's extraction of groundwater and settlers' prevention of Palestinian farmers' access to surface water through daily assaults have intensified the issue.
Data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Palestinian Water Authority reveal alarmingly low water consumption rates among Palestinians, far below global standards. In 2022, the daily per capita water consumption for Palestinians was 85.7 liters. Factoring in the high contamination levels in Gaza, the amount of potable water available drops to just 20.5 liters per person per day. In contrast, Israeli per capita water consumption averages 300 liters per day, with settlers using more than seven times the amount of water compared to Palestinians.
Ashraf Barakat, Director of the Jericho and Jordan Valley Agriculture Directorate, informed WAFA about the steady decline in the water levels of Al-Auja spring over the past seven years, largely due to excessive extraction by Israeli settlements. Barakat noted that the occupation's actions include installing pumps to divert water away from Palestinian communities.
Data from the Jericho Agriculture Directorate emphasize the importance of Al-Auja spring, which supports approximately 140 families, sustains around 13,000 heads of livestock, and irrigates 8,000 dunums of agricultural land. Water expert Sael Washahi highlighted the spring's typical output of 1,200 to 1,500 cubic meters per hour, occasionally reaching 2,000 cubic meters in favorable seasons. However, the current drought has reduced flow rates to between 200 and 300 cubic meters per hour, with a complete dry-up looming.
Washahi pointed to insufficient rainfall and settler encroachments as key factors in this year's severe drop in water levels. He noted that recent settler attacks have significantly obstructed the water flow from the spring through natural valleys, preventing it from reaching Palestinian communities.
Researcher Walid Abu Mohsen explained that, under the Oslo Accords, Palestinians are entitled to 118 million cubic meters of water annually, half sourced from the Eastern Basin. However, 42 deep wells confiscated by Israelis in the Eastern Basin extract about 50 million cubic meters annually, depleting reserves and severely limiting Palestinians' access to water.
Abu Mohsen elaborated on the Israeli water violations, categorized into those by occupation authorities, involving extensive deep well drilling, and those by settlers through daily assaults and land takeovers. A study by researcher Taysir Jbara revealed that 90 percent of West Bank springs are under occupation control, serving Israeli interests while Palestinians are denied permits to drill new or deepen existing wells.
The study cited Al-Auja as a key example of the West Bank's water crisis, with its springs historically providing 17 million cubic meters annually for Palestinian farmers. However, deep wells drilled by Israeli settlements have dried up Al-Auja's springs and Palestinian wells. Meanwhile, Palestinian farmers lack sufficient irrigation, leading to the destruction of 90 percent of their fruit trees, with further losses of vegetable crops by 1987.
A report from the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority documented numerous violations across the northern West Bank, including attacks on water wells and incidents of untreated wastewater harming Palestinian lands. These Israeli practices violate international environmental laws and conventions, such as the Basel Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Al-Aghwar region, along the eastern border of the West Bank, covers 1,600 square kilometers and is home to over 65,000 Palestinians, making up 28 percent of the West Bank's area.