Water Supply Reduced in Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem Amid Heat Wave

Water Supply Reduced in Palestinian Neighborhood in East Jerusalem Amid Heat Wave

Despite being inside the municipal lines, the Kfar Aqab neighborhood gets its water from a Palestinian company, which said Israel was transferring less water to it. The neighborhood's water ran for only two days this week, according to the locals. Israel's water company: It's the Palestinian Authority's responsibility

Nir Hasson

Jun 13, 2024 4:31 pm IDT

Palestinians say water supply was available for only two days over the past week in East Jerusalem's Kafr Aqab, as the local water company says Israel diminished water supply to the area.

Water supply to the neighborhood, home to some 100,000 residents, is handled by a Palestinian water company that buys it from Mekorot, the Israeli state-owned water company, through mediation of the Palestinian Authority.

"We apologize for the issue, which is not under our control, and ask customers to ration water consumption," the company announced, amid a heavy heat wave in the region.

Mekorot said that it was unaware of a decision to reduce the quantity of water supplied to the neighborhood, and that it was the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority to transfer water to the water companies operating in its territory. The Jerusalem municipality did not respond.

Kafr Aqab is within the Jerusalem municipal border and is under the full responsibility of Israeli authorities. However, the separation barrier disconnects the neighborhood from the rest of the city, and it has often been neglected since the barrier's construction.

"Why do all the surrounding settlements have water 24 hours a day and we don't?" asks Munir Zarier, chairman of the neighborhood residents committee.

School principals in the neighborhood said that they are struggling under these conditions and are forced to send the children home early. The local summer camp directors have said that they will not be able to open for the summer unless the issue is resolved.

Jerusalem's water corporation, Hagihon, which supplies water to the majority of the city's residents, does not operate in Kafr Aqab at all. Over the years, the residents have suffered from prolonged water cutoffs and the water pressure is regularly low.

But they testify that, until last week, the water supply was fairly good. Due to water supply issues over the years, most neighborhood residents have placed water tanks on their roofs in order to prepare for shortages. When the water flows, they use pumps to fill the tanks. However, they claim that the stored water, which is often 1,000 or 1,500 liters, is insufficient.

Despite the authorities' neglect, Kafr Aqab has become a sought-after residence, because the Jerusalem municipality barely enforces building laws in the area. Since construction of the separation fence, thousands of apartments have been built without permits, and the neighborhood's current population is over 100,000, the majority of whom are Israeli citizens.


Bi-Weekly Fact: the West Bank

In the occupied West Bank (including East Jerusalem), since October 7, 2023...
 
Israeli soldiers and illegal Israeli settlers killed more than 520 Palestinians, including 124 children

• Israel soldiers killed 491 Palestinians. Illegal Israeli settlers killed 10 Palestinians. It is unclear whether the remaining people were killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers.
• About one third of those Palestinians were killed by Israel's militarized operations using airstrikes and ground-to-ground missiles on refugee camps and other densely populated areas.
 
Israeli soldiers and illegal Israeli settlers injured over 5,150 Palestinians, including about 800 children

• More than a third of the injuries were from live ammunition. 
 
Illegal Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in the West Bank more than 940 times

• In 96 attacks, Palestinians were killed. 
• In 748 attacks, Palestinian property was damaged or destroyed.
• In 99 attacks, Palestinians were killed and property was damaged or destroyed.  
• Over 43,000 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings were destroyed or damaged.
 
Israel arrested more than 9,125 Palestinians including more than 300 women and 635 children

• This includes those arrested from their homes, at military checkpoints, those who surrendered under pressure, and those taken hostage.
• Detainees include 80 journalists.
• Many of the prisoners who have been released report being tortured and abused during their detention.
• Only 18 detainees killed inside the occupation jails since October 7 have been identified.
• Israel is holding the bodies of 16 additional detainees who died in Israeli custody.
 
 
Sources: OCHA, Wafa, Wafa, Aljazeera
 
 

Banner design by Paul Normandia of Red Sun Press

Humanitarian Situation Update #177 Gaza Strip. June 10

Key Highlights

  • An Israeli military operation in An Nuseirat Refugee Camp rescues four Israeli hostages and results in nearly 1,000 Palestinian casualties.  

  • Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah is operating at nearly five-fold its capacity while surviving on only one electricity generator. 

  • Over 330,000 tons of solid waste have accumulated in or near populated areas in the Gaza Strip, warns the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster. 

Read the report.

Makeshift tents of internally displaced people in Al Mawasi, Khan Younis. Photo by OCHA