Ramallah – Reuters

Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are facing a severe water shortage, which they attribute to escalating attacks by extremist Jewish settlers on scarce water sources.

Across the West Bank, residents complain of water shortages that have led to dry taps in homes and a lack of water for irrigation activities in fields.

In Ramallah, one of the largest Palestinian cities in the West Bank and the administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, residents facing water shortages now rely on public taps.

Umm Ziad, while filling plastic containers with water alongside other Ramallah residents, said: “Water is the basis of life, and here the water pressure has dropped because of the settlers. They cut off water from Kafr Malik, which distributes water to the West Bank, so we now have a water crisis and come to fill water from here.”

The United Nations documented 62 incidents of sabotage carried out by Jewish settlers targeting water wells, pipelines, irrigation networks, and other water infrastructure in the West Bank during the first six months of the year.

The Israeli army acknowledged receiving multiple reports of Israeli civilians deliberately damaging water infrastructure, without identifying any suspects.

Among the targeted water sources is a fresh water spring and a water distribution station in Ein Samia, about 16 kilometers northeast of Ramallah, serving around 20 nearby Palestinian villages and some neighborhoods.

Settlers took control of the spring, which Palestinians have used for generations to hydrate during hot summer months. The Jerusalem Water Authority said the Ein Samia water distribution station has become a frequent target of sabotage by settlers.

Abdullah Ba’irat (60), a resident of the nearby village of Kafr Malik, standing on a hill overlooking the spring, said settler violence has sharply escalated.

He added: “They break into water stations at the spring, destroy them, remove cameras, and cut off water for hours. This water irrigates 70,000 people.”

Israeli settlements surrounding the Ein Samia spring and Kafr Malik village are increasing.

The United Nations and most governments worldwide consider settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law and an obstacle to the establishment of a future Palestinian state.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs noted that settlers carried out multiple attacks targeting water springs and vital water infrastructure in Ramallah, Salfit, and Nablus from June 1 to July 14. A July report said the Ein Samia spring was repeatedly attacked.

The Israeli army responded to questions about the report, stating that Israeli security forces consider any damage to infrastructure a serious violation and conduct covert and overt operations to prevent further harm. It added that the Palestinian Water Authority has been granted access to carry out repairs.

Kareem Jibran, field research director at B’Tselem (the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), said settlers have taken control of most natural springs in the West Bank in recent years and prevented Palestinians from accessing them.

Palestinians have long faced intimidation campaigns, harassment, and physical violence by extremist settlers, who represent a minority of Jewish settlers living in the West Bank. Most settlers live in settlements for financial or ideological reasons and do not advocate violence against Palestinians.

Palestinians fear the rising settler violence is part of a campaign to expel them from the land. The UN recorded 925 such incidents in the first seven months of the year, a 16% year-on-year increase. Since the Hamas attack, some Israeli politicians have called for annexing the West Bank.

Palestinians seek to establish their future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Throughout the West Bank, water tanks are widespread in Palestinian homes, storing rainwater or truck-delivered water due to an unreliable water network worsened by settler attacks.

Along with traveling long distances to fetch water, Palestinians rely on costly water shipments to manage the chronic water crisis they fear will worsen.

Wafiq Salim, who was getting water from a public tap outside Ramallah, said: “If the settlers remain, we are doomed… a conflict bigger than the occupation will happen, the most important thing is water.”