Amnesty: Israel Is Denying Palestinians Water

Report slams Israel's 'total domination' of water supplies
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 27, 2009 3:58 AM CDT
Amnesty: Israel Is Denying Palestinians Water
A Bedouin Arab follows his camels down an almost dry river bed, where he waters his herd with polluted argicultural run-off near Jericho in the West Bank.   (Getty Images)

Israel is guzzling the region's water supply to keep its farmland lush and its lawns green while many Palestinians struggle to get the bare minimum for life, according to an Amnesty International report. The report accuses Israel of using its "total control" over water supplies to discriminate against Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, the BBC reports.

Many Palestinians in the West Bank have no access to running water and the Israeli military prevents them from digging wells and accessing rainwater, the report charges. Israeli settlers, meanwhile, enjoy virtually unrestricted access to water despite a prolonged drought. Israeli officials call the Amnesty report "biased and incorrect" and accuse the Palestinians of mismanaging their water resources.
(More water stories.)

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