JAI: An Eye on Palestine–September 2013 newsletter

#Palestine

Thirsting for water, 20 years after Oslo

Palestinians have long suffered from a shortage of clean and safe water.  Along with other interim measures the Oslo Accords promised to temporarily fix the problems of water management and access until a final status agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians was reached. The Palestinians right to water was recognised in both Oslo I and II Accords, and greater access to the region’s water resources was promised.  However, what the Oslo Accords actually did was formalise an existing discriminatory arrangement leaving the majority of Palestinians with access to less than 70 litres of water a day.  The Israeli average daily water consumption is 300 litres.  More details

Israel has caused peace talks to reach a dead end              

Israel is seeking to transform the peace talks with the Palestinians into periodic meetings between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Tuesday.  Quoting Western diplomatic sources, the newspaper said that the talks have reached a dead-end “because of Israel’s refusal to engage in serious negotiations about borders, focusing instead on security.”  The sources claimed that Israel has insisted over the past two months on talking only about security-related issues. “But in the face of Palestinian insistence, some meetings dealt with the border,” the sources said, referring to the secret talks held in Jerusalem and Jericho. More details                                                                                                 

Demolitions leave Jordan Valley Community of Khirbet al-Makhul homeless

Three cases of demolition of Palestinian homes and businesses have been recorded by the human rights organisation Al Haq in the past 2 weeks.  60 people lost their homes in Al Sheikh Anbar neighbourhood of East Jerusalem when 10 structures were bulldozed by the Israeli authorities.  Further north in Jenin, a shopping centre and three businesses were destroyed by Israeli soldiers in the village of Barta’a.  And on 16 September, Israeli forces demolished Khirbet al-Makhul, located 20 kilometres to the east of Toubas city, in the northern Jordan Valley area. Khirbet al-Makhul is located on land classified as Area C and has a population of approximately 60 people, most of whom dwell in residential structures built with zinc boards, wood and canvas. . Despite the fact that Khirbet al-Makhul has been inhabited since 1967, its infrastructure is nonexistent – there are neither water or electricity networks, nor health centres or schools.  Read more

Newsletter Spotlight

Former EU leaders urge Ashton: Stand firm on Israeli settlement guidelines

British MEP accuses Israel of Ethnic Cleansing of Bedouins

600 Israeli intellectuals send letter in support of EU settlement guidelines

Ariel Settlement wastewater damaging Salfit land

Volunteers help rebuild part of Khirbet al-Makhul

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