Holy Land: Army destroys water supply of two Palestinian villages

"CatD9T" by Shaun Greiner - CAT D9T. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons -

(This story was sent to us by Rabbis For Human Rights. It recounts a common event that is rarely covered by international news services - but will seriously affect the lives of several hundred people.)

Two rainwater cisterns have been destroyed today, leaving a West Bank village without water infrastructure. Two days after the High Court of Justice ruled to uphold the military planning system operating in Area C of the West Bank, the bulldozers moves in. The demolition occurred in Wadi Fukin, west of Bethlehem, where the village relies mainly on agriculture for subsistence and is largely without water infrastructure.

Two rainwater collecting cisterns were also essential for irrigation and watering animals. Wadi Fukin is in Area C, where Israel is fully responsible for all aspects of civilian life.

This is an example of the problematic nature of the current military planning system, which lacks representation of Palestinian residents.

Two days ago, the High Court rejected a petition which sought to avoid situations such as this by restoring planning powers to the Palestinians. Restoring planning rights to Palestinians would address the lack of infrastructure in Palestinian villages, the blocking of local initiatives for infrastructure development and would effectively end the demolition of hundreds of homes and buildings a year due to the inability to obtain building permits.

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