New report: "Foul Play: Neglect of wastewater treatment in the West Bank"

In a new report, B'Tselem surveys the ongoing neglect of wastewater treatment in the West Bank. The report criticizes both Israel and the Palestinian Authority for their failures, which have harmed the health and future water supply of all residents of Israel and the West Bank.

Excerpts:
Wastewater in the West Bank – from the settlements, from parts of Jerusalem, and from Palestinian communities – amounts to 91 million cubic meters [mcm] a year.  Most of it is not treated, despite the
sanitary and environmental danger inherent to wastewater flowing freely. Prolonged neglect of this issue has caused severe hazards in the West Bank and is liable to pollute the Mountain Aquifer, the most important and highest-quality water source for both Israelis and Palestinians.

... Consequences of neglecting wastewater treatment in the West Bank

Since settlers in the West Bank use Israel’s water-supply system, neglect of wastewater treatment in the area has almost no effect on them. Palestinians, however, and especially residents of small towns and villages, rely on water from natural sources. As a result, pollution of these sources aggravates the chronic drinking-water
shortage in the West Bank. Also, use of untreated wastewater for agriculture contaminates crops and harms a major sector of the Palestinian economy. In the long run, the flow of untreated wastewater will also diminish land fertility.

In addition, since most settlements have been established on ridges and hilltops, their untreated wastewater flows to nearby Palestinian communities, which are usually located further down the slope. The report present three cases that illustrate how settlements pollute water sources and farmland in nearby Palestinian communities:

B'Tselem reiterates its position that establishment of the settlements and their continuing existence contravene international humanitarian law and result in extensive prolonged infringement of Palestinians’ human rights. Therefore, the government of Israel must evacuate all the settlements and return the settlers to Israeli territory.

However, in light of the severity of the pollution, and taking into account its immediate effects on water sources serving Palestinians and the long-term implication for the Palestinian-Israeli shared water sources, so long as settlements remain, all their wastewater must be treated in accordance with treatment standards applying inside Israel, and the law must be enforced against polluting settlements. Also, the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority must act jointly to immediately advance planned Palestinian wastewater treatment projects. These projects should be executed even if they involve treatment of both Palestinian and settlement wastewater, with the understanding that these projects will continue to serve Palestinians after the settlements are evacuated.