Jordan Valley: The army is blocking entrances and transporting water to the Palestinian settlements

Palestinian Jordan Valley

February 20, 2024

Mahmoud B. has been held in custody for a month and a half already because 2.5 months earlier he shared a post of an Imam grieving angrily about the death of Gazan children and women. Mahmoud is a farmer, and has many initiatives on his farm - he grows strawberries, bees, wheat, special grass that grows immensely in the summer, tomatoes and squash. In his absence the entire heavy weight of the farm falling on the shoulders of his wife, who in addition has elderly parents (85 years old), two sisters in law with special needs, small children, and a flock of sheep and goats. Khadija, this woman, is literally collapsing.

We came to help her pick tomatoes, but apparently there are not enough ripe tomatoes so we helped her and her brother pick squash.

Later we drove north. On our way we met Nidal whom we had accompanied in the past. Now he grazes his flock next to his home for fear of the colonists who have attacked him many times, and came to his home when we were not there, threatened him and trashed the house.

From there we continued to the “water gate” opposite Roi colony. All shepherd communities in the Palestinian Jordan Valley are denied access to water. Israel has taken over all the water in the Valley through Mekorot (Israel National water Company) since August 1967, and ever since Mekorot supplies Palestinian water to the colonies. Completely.

This harshly violates international law in three ways: international law forbids settling population of the occupying state inside the occupied territory; it forbids exploiting natural resources of the occupied territory for the civilian needs of the occupier; and the occupier is responsible for the daily needs of the occupied people.

Having no other choice, the inhabitants of the Palestinian Jordan Valley drive to ‘Atuf, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and bring water in old, rusty water tankers. Just imagine - Israel denies thousands of humans, the elderly, women, children and livestock water and they are forced to drive their tractors tied to water tankers day in day out to bring water. Naturally they use a very limited amount of water, especially in the intense local summer heat (40 degrees centigrade).

If this were not enough, since the assault on Gaza, Israel has placed a yellow metal gate on the track leading to water sources at ‘Atuf. It is locked most hours of the day, and no soldiers in sight. After much pressure and nagging, permanent times were set for opening it, in the morning and in the afternoon. However, the army usually ignores them, and nearly every day people call us, desperate.

Palestinians stand by the gate for hours, no one comes to open it. Worse, they go to ‘Atuf to get water, and on their way back they find a locked gate and no soldiers to open it.

We had a short visit at Al Farisiya, where activists of the Jordan Valley Solidarity group are present 24/7, as human shields. Respect…

On our way home we entered Duma and Qusra. Well, more precisely - we turned in but at the entrance to Duma we were welcomed by a towering dirt dyke that has already grown weeds. At Qusra the entrance was blocked by a locked metal gate. Duma is about a kilometer and a half from its blockage. How the hell would an old woman or schoolchildren get home from there? The situation is similar in most of the West Bank villages. And why? Because Hamas elsewhere, far away, attacked? Why are all West Bank inhabitants being punished?