Palestinians denied access to water ( By Al-Jazeera)

Palestinians denied access to water - 14 Nov 09

Israel dubs Palestinian farmers trying in vain to irrigate their lands "water pirates".

Palestinian farmers in the West Bank, or "water pirates" as Israeli occupation forces prefer to call them, are siphoning off drinking water pipes in an effort to secure water to irrigate their farmland.

Water is an increasingly disputed resource between Israel and the Palestinians.

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A World Bank report has accused Israel of using four times more water than Palestinians from the so-called Mountain Aquifer that bridges Israel and the territory and runs along the West Bank.

Israel disputes that claim and says the Palestinians are jeopardising the resource through illegal use.

Palestinians argue they are being denied access in order to force them off their land.

This exclusive report from Al Jazeera shows Israeli occupation forces dismantling a farmer's water pipes in the agricultural village of al-Baqa.

Badran Jaber, a Palestinian farmer, told Al Jazeera: "We were surprised by a large group of soldiers and settlers who surrounded the entire area. We asked them: 'why are you doing this and what do you want?' They refused to speak to us.

"Men who came with the soldiers stormed the field and pulled out all the irrigation pipes, destroying the crops."

Al Jazeera's Jacky Rowland reports on how Israeli rules blight the lives of many Palestinians.




Road restrictions for West Bank Palestinians (By Al-Jazeera)

Roads in the occupied Palestinian Territories are vital arteries connecting West Bank towns and villages. But major routes have been closed off to tens of thousands of Palestinians, for the benefi...
Roads in the occupied Palestinian Territories are vital arteries connecting West Bank towns and villages.

But major routes have been closed off to tens of thousands of Palestinians, for the benefit of a handful of Israeli settlers.

Now, in the first ruling of its kind, Israel's supreme court has ordered the army to open up a West Bank highway to Palestinian traffic again.

Nicole Johnston reports from the occupied West Bank.

Civilian fears on Gaza's Israeli border

Civilian fears on Gaza's Israeli border ( By Aljazera)

AlJazeeraEnglish
November 12, 2009

Almost a year after Israel launched its war on Gaza, Palestinians who live there are still trying to rebuild their lives from the devastation. For those living near the border, that task has become all the more difficult and dangerous.

Not only are these people living too far from population centres to receive aid, they also live in constant fear of being shot or coming under attack. Al Jazeera correspondent Zeina Awad reports on their plight in northern Gaza.
Category: News & Politics



Sea shrinks for Gaza fishermen by CNN
November 10, 2009

Fishermen from Gaza can't stray more than three miles from shore or they face danger. CNN's Paula Hancocks reports.




Locked In: The Humanitarian Impact of Two Years of Blockade on the Gaza Strip
United Nations Videos

United Nations, New York, 17 August 2009 - Daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. The ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, now in its third year, h...
United Nations, New York, 17 August 2009 - Daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. The ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip, now in its third year, has triggered a protracted human dignity crisis with negative humanitarian consequences, according to a new report released today by the United Nations relief wing.