What Awaits Groundwater Wells in the West Bank

There is no doubt that the need for water in the West Bank is increasing significantly, due to the needs of people for drinking water for everyone living in the West Bank, and also for agriculture for everyone farming in the West Bank. In addition, various factories also need water daily. These simple facts highlight the extent of daily water consumption for various daily life requirements. However, we all know that there are those who reside in the West Bank against our will and control everything, and at the same time, they monitor everything – I am talking about water, not anything else. A simple statistic states:

Only 36% of West Bank residents receive running water daily, 47% of West Bank residents receive running water less than ten days a month, and 92% of West Bank residents store water in tanks on their rooftops, in an attempt to overcome the problem of constant water scarcity. The total water consumption by Israelis during 2020 was ten times the total consumed by Palestinians in the West Bank.

However, Israel treats the water resources between the sea and the river as if they belong solely to it, and considers itself the exclusive authority empowered to make decisions regarding their use. Immediately after the occupation, Israel seized the Palestinian water sector and imposed severe restrictions and prohibitions on it. It compelled Palestinians to obtain permits from it to drill new wells and exploited new water sources for its own needs that it had not been able to access before the occupation, especially in the Jordan Valley.

In addition, Israel connected all settlements established throughout the West Bank – except those established in the valleys – to the Israeli water network. Settlements are supplied with water according to water consumption indicators within Israel, where the supply of water to Israeli towns on both sides of the Green Line is managed as a single system. However, what increases the danger and great concern is what the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee in the Israeli Knesset said on Wednesday, in a special session to discuss what was described as serious and systematic damage to the "national water system" in the occupied West Bank. Although Israel occupies the land, with its water and resources, and controls its capabilities, it accuses Palestinians in the West Bank of stealing water, drilling illegal wells, and illegally connecting to Israeli water networks belonging to the "Mekorot" company.

During the session, data was presented indicating that the Israeli Water Authority knows about approximately 440 "illegally" drilled wells, but estimates suggest that the actual number is much higher. The extent of the damage to the water system was also estimated at about 140 million cubic meters annually. It appears that this committee made decisions related to this meeting, which were not disclosed, but we will certainly see them on the ground. We should not forget that the occupation's water authority is undertaking significant measures, foremost among them inspecting all wells in the West Bank in terms of their depth and the amount of water they extract per hour, for example, on a regular basis. But once again, what happened in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee regarding the wells in the West Bank, their number, and their illegality, puts us in great concern in anticipation of measures on the ground that will exacerbate the current water crisis, making it related to the political project of the occupation, which says, "Dry up everything to force them to leave and depart." The question arises as to what awaits the West Bank and its groundwater.