Correcting Oppression: Volume 3 - Building & Water
In the Palestinian Territories (all of the West Bank, Areas A, B, and C, and Gaza) building any type of development, business, school, mall, or market must be approved by Israel. There is no development or progress in Palestine that can happen without Israeli approval. In order to build a school for instance, a board member must get approval from the Palestinian government and the Israeli government.
“As of September 2018, 102 building plans had been submitted to the Israeli Civil Administration’s planning bodies, but by the end of 2018, a mere five plans – covering an area of about 1,00 dunams (or about 0.03% of Area C) – had received approval. The odds of a Palestinian receiving a building permit in Area C – even on privately owned land – are slim to none.” - https://www.btselem.org/planning_and_building
Similarly, the shared water supply in the land is under Israeli control. “Under the Interim Agreement (Oslo II) signed in 1995, Israel retained control of all water resources. The agreement stipulated that 80% of water in the West Bank pumped from the mountain aquifer – a joint Israeli- Palestinian resource – would be allotted to Israeli use and the remaining 20% for Palestinian use.” - https://www.btselem.org/water
In Palestine, mostly desert land, water is a precious resource. When I lived there, we were told by our landlord that showers needed to be short and washing dishes needed to be done with a minimal amount of water. Everyone had massive water reserves on top of their homes in case the water was cut off, which happened fairly often.
While Israeli homes have so much water they can supply their family, their home, and even overflow into watering beautiful gardens, my Palestinian friends, right next door, a mere 10 minute drive, could not wash their dishes. With a shared water resource, it’s difficult not to see the injustice here.
These Israeli policies are withholding resources and permits necessary for this developing country to grow. It’s cutting the legs out from under them and making life unpredictable and painful. All the while they are building immaculate Settlements on top of the very same land that they are denying Palestinians to build on and funneling the only water resources directly to them.
This matters because it creates a maddening environment to live in. When you are unable to build on land you hold a deed to and unable to do basic tasks with a small water supply, you feel the injustice every. single. day. It’s hard to live in this environment for very long without becoming angry.
After living in the West Bank for a few weeks, I took a trip into Israeli territory in Jerusalem. I was shocked by how jarring it was to see so many beautiful gardens. Simply enjoying the flowers and gardens in Jerusalem brought me so much life. Then, I quickly realized that these gardens were able to exist because Israelis have enough excess water to be able to water a garden as beautiful as the ones I was seeing. My heart became heavy and even the small beautiful things became tainted with the sad reality in the land.