Palestinians Thirsting for Justice in Water-Starved Occupied Territories
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Inter Press Service (IPS)
by Thalif Deen - August 26, 2011 - 12:00am

STOCKHOLM, Aug 26, 2011 (IPS) - In the strife-stricken Middle East, oil has always been in the realm of politics. But in the Israeli-occupied territories of Gaza and the West Bank, oil has been supplanted by water. Shaddad Attili, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, told IPS that the Palestinians have not only been deprived of water as a basic human right but that water is also being used as a weapon of war by the Israelis.

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Israel's water management shameful
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from San Antonio Express
by Xelena Gonzalez - (Opinion) August 1, 2011 - 12:00am

Following a series of pro-Israel stories that reek of propaganda, your paper praised Israel's wise water management in the July 23 piece, “Israel trip is already paying off for SAWS.” This is ironic considering the dire situation faced by half country's population.

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Palestinians fear for ancient West Bank water source
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Tom Perry - July 28, 2011 - 12:00am

RASHAYIDA, West Bank, July 28 (Reuters) - Hewn from rock, the cavernous cisterns which dot the desert beyond Bethlehem have for centuries harvested winter rain to provide shepherds and their flocks with water through summer. Under a baking sun, an elderly Bedouin explains how cisterns he remembers from childhood, many of them restored to full working order in the last few years, are once again helping his goat-herding community to survive. That, he concludes, is why the Israeli authorities who control the West Bank have demolished at least three in the area since November.

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Gaza fishermen swamped by Israeli gunboats and water cannon
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Guardian
by Harriet Sherwood - July 24, 2011 - 12:00am

Hani al-Asi, a fisherman since the age of 11 and a father with 12 mouths to feed, had just begun throwing his lines into the Mediterranean when an Israeli gunboat sped towards his traditional hasaka. With a machine gun mounted at the rear and half a dozen armed soldiers on the bridge, the navy vessel repeatedly circled the small fishing boat. The rolling waves caused by the backwash threatened to swamp it.

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Bethlehem's taps run dry as West Bank Israelis continue to fill their swimming pool
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Hugh Naylor - July 13, 2011 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM // Water taps have run dry in this venerable West Bank city, fuelling public frustration and alarming Palestinian leaders. An acute shortage has panicked Bethlehem hoteliers into building massively expensive storage tanks, lest their customers flee to water-abundant Israeli resorts. Freelance profiteers have carved out a thriving black-market trade in water affordable only to a wealthy few. Meanwhile, Bethlehem's residents, who no longer have enough water to bathe regularly, are sporting scruffy hair and soiled clothing.

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Panel on water solutions in Middle East gets heated
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Sharon Udasin - July 6, 2011 - 12:00am

A panel whose aim was to address “cross-border cooperation in managing water basins” quickly became a political struggle that overpowered participants’ individual ideas toward improving the water situation for the region. During the International Water Symposium on Tuesday, experts from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority discussed the increasingly dangerous situation the region is facing as water sources deplete, a problem they all agreed could only be solved by cooperation between neighbors, despite political differences.

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The reason for our water crisis
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post
by Shaddad Attili - (Opinion) June 15, 2011 - 12:00am

Earlier this month, I took part in a panel discussion on the water crisis affecting the Middle East. Along with representatives from Jordan and France, Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Minister for Environmental Protection, was on the panel. The theme was “equitable sharing and reasonable use of cross-border watercourses,” which goes to the very heart of the water dispute between Palestinians and Israelis.

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Israel 'exploiting Jordan Valley resources'
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Agence France Presse (AFP)
May 12, 2011 - 12:00am

Israel has systematically exploited the resources of the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank, favoring settlers over Palestinians, an Israeli rights group said on Thursday. A report by B'Tselem said Israel dominated the land, water resources and even tourist sites along the strip of land which runs along the eastern flank of the West Bank, in what appeared to be a prelude to a de facto annexation of territory.

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PA: Israeli destruction of water resources must stop
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
February 1, 2011 - 1:00am

Israel has "intensified its campaign of targeting Palestinian water cisterns for destruction," Minister of the Palestinian Water Authority Shaddad Attili said Tuesday, condemning the acts. Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee's 'Declaration for Keeping the Water Infrastructure out of the Cycle of Violence,' Attili accused Israel of using water to target Palestinian communities in vulnerable areas and force their departure.

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Israeli navy arrests three fishermen off Gaza coast
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
January 4, 2011 - 1:00am

The Israeli navy arrested three Palestinian fishermen off Gaza's shore on Tuesday, Palestinians sources said. An Israeli navy ship intercepted and sank a small fishing boat, forcing the three people onboard to climb to the gunboat, a source from the Hamas' interior ministry told Xinhua. Nizar Ayesh, head of the Palestinian Fishermen Union, said the Palestinians were working within the area that Israel allows fishermen to work in.

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