11 oct 2016
Crews of the Israeli Mekorot Company deliberately dumped waste water in Palestinian-owned land used to cultivate olive trees in Salfit, eyewitnesses told the PIC reporter.
The sources pointed out that local farmers were not able to reach their agricultural lands for picking their olive harvest.
Local activist Khaled Maali affirmed that Mekorot Company repeatedly cut off water supplies to Palestinians while increasing water flow to the neighboring illegal settlement.
Local farmers are also prevented from drilling artesian wells in area, he added. Each year during the olive harvest many settlers attack Palestinian farmers, destroy trees, and even steal olives after they have been collected, making the Palestinian farmers fear for their livelihood.
Olives not only makes up a large percentage of Palestinian income and food supply but the crop is also a part of the Palestinian identity, history, and culture.
The sources pointed out that local farmers were not able to reach their agricultural lands for picking their olive harvest.
Local activist Khaled Maali affirmed that Mekorot Company repeatedly cut off water supplies to Palestinians while increasing water flow to the neighboring illegal settlement.
Local farmers are also prevented from drilling artesian wells in area, he added. Each year during the olive harvest many settlers attack Palestinian farmers, destroy trees, and even steal olives after they have been collected, making the Palestinian farmers fear for their livelihood.
Olives not only makes up a large percentage of Palestinian income and food supply but the crop is also a part of the Palestinian identity, history, and culture.
1 oct 2016
Israeli settlers from Bdo'ial illegal settlement pumped Saturday morning wastewater into olive fields north of Salfit, eyewitnesses reported.
The sources told the PIC reporter that severe damage was caused due to the settlers’ practice.
The local activist Khaled Maali pointed out that 24 nearby settlements’ wastewater has been polluting Salfit over the past years and the situation is getting worse.
The waste problem is now creating a major health problem to Salfit’s residents, he said, adding that the practice is a flagrant violation of international conventions.
“The industrial refuse from Israeli factories and the wastewater from the neighboring settlements have increased. Our crops are unsafe to eat and our livestock are threatened.
Children are suffering from skin and stomach illnesses. The smell is foul and we have a problem with insects. Most of the dumping of waste is deliberate,” locals complained.
They also appealed for the protection of their natural springs and archaeological sites from settlers’ almost-daily attacks.
As occupying power, Israel has the duty according to Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of ‘ensuring and maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local authorities, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory in order to prevent the spread of diseases and epidemics.’
The sources told the PIC reporter that severe damage was caused due to the settlers’ practice.
The local activist Khaled Maali pointed out that 24 nearby settlements’ wastewater has been polluting Salfit over the past years and the situation is getting worse.
The waste problem is now creating a major health problem to Salfit’s residents, he said, adding that the practice is a flagrant violation of international conventions.
“The industrial refuse from Israeli factories and the wastewater from the neighboring settlements have increased. Our crops are unsafe to eat and our livestock are threatened.
Children are suffering from skin and stomach illnesses. The smell is foul and we have a problem with insects. Most of the dumping of waste is deliberate,” locals complained.
They also appealed for the protection of their natural springs and archaeological sites from settlers’ almost-daily attacks.
As occupying power, Israel has the duty according to Article 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of ‘ensuring and maintaining, with the cooperation of national and local authorities, public health and hygiene in the occupied territory in order to prevent the spread of diseases and epidemics.’
