Israel depriving Palestinians of access to clean water: UN report

A UN human rights investigator reported Monday that Israel is depriving millions of Palestinians of access to a regular supply of clean water while stripping their lands of minerals “in an apparent act of pillage.”

Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk highlighted the Palestinians’ right to water, natural resources and the environment. “Israel had maintained a hermetic air, sea and land blockade around Gaza,” said Lynk. “In Gaza, the collapse of the coastal aquifer, the only natural source of drinking water in the Strip and now almost entirely unfit for human consumption, is contributing to a significant health crisis among the two million Palestinians living there.”

Regarding the living conditions in the occupied territories, Lynk said he would focus on the greatest crisis area, Gaza. Lynk noted that there are 25 UN Security Council resolutions pertaining to the settlements and the application of the fourth Geneva Convention that Israel had not abided by, which violated article 25 of the UN Charter.

Speakers on behalf of different countries and organizations called on Israel to grant access to the current mandate holder and to cooperate with the UN human rights council and its mechanisms. They also condemned all attacks on unarmed Palestinian people and all violations of international humanitarian law, including land confiscation and destruction of houses.

Source: Jurist