Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
Vandals foul Palestinian village's water supply
The Madama village's spring was deliberately contaminated and its water supply system was sabotaged 10 days ago, village council head Ayed Kamal said Sunday.
This is the sixth time in the past three years that the spring, the only source of water of the village's 1,700 residents, and the water system, has been deliberately damaged.
The village is located near the extremist Yitzhar settlement and its outposts.
An Oxfam delegation, accompanied by an Israel Defense Forces unit for protection, set out last Thursday to gauge the damage. The Oxfam group needed protection after armed Israelis opened fire on workers repairing the spring and water pipes on two previous occasions during 2002.
Talia Somech, a spokeswoman for the IDF's civil administration, told Haaretz that the IDF learned of the damage only during the visit on Thursday and that the matter would be passed on to the police.
Kamal told Haaretz that 10 days ago a group of Israelis, some of them armed, clashed with shepherds near the spring. That evening the water stopped flowing to the villagers' houses. On Thursday they found that the water pipes had been broken and the cement encasing one of the water wells had been smashed to pieces. The debris had been thrown into the well.
A number of times from the end of 2000 to the end of 2003, the villagers had no water to their homes after unknown perpetrators smashed the water pipes and threw building waste into the water holes.
Oxfam volunteered to finance the pipes' repair, but they were vandalized again. Oxfam then encased the pipes above the surface with concrete and built an iron cage around the water holes to protect them. However, once again the concrete and pipes were smashed and the drinking water fouled with dirty diapers and other waste.
In November 2003, Italian volunteers helped the villagers seal the water hole openings with concrete. But in a few months the villagers started suffering from liver infections and stomach diseases. The contaminated water was banned for use until January this year, when after heavy rainfalls the pollution was reduced. The villagers started using it again, until 10 days ago.
Kamal said the Palestinian Authority stopped passing complaints onto the IDF, because it fails to act on Palestinians' complaints against settlers.
An Oxfam source said the group would prefer investing the funds in new projects, rather than in repairing repeated sabotage carried out by Israeli citizens.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/542572.html
The village is located near the extremist Yitzhar settlement and its outposts.
An Oxfam delegation, accompanied by an Israel Defense Forces unit for protection, set out last Thursday to gauge the damage. The Oxfam group needed protection after armed Israelis opened fire on workers repairing the spring and water pipes on two previous occasions during 2002.
Talia Somech, a spokeswoman for the IDF's civil administration, told Haaretz that the IDF learned of the damage only during the visit on Thursday and that the matter would be passed on to the police.
Kamal told Haaretz that 10 days ago a group of Israelis, some of them armed, clashed with shepherds near the spring. That evening the water stopped flowing to the villagers' houses. On Thursday they found that the water pipes had been broken and the cement encasing one of the water wells had been smashed to pieces. The debris had been thrown into the well.
A number of times from the end of 2000 to the end of 2003, the villagers had no water to their homes after unknown perpetrators smashed the water pipes and threw building waste into the water holes.
Oxfam volunteered to finance the pipes' repair, but they were vandalized again. Oxfam then encased the pipes above the surface with concrete and built an iron cage around the water holes to protect them. However, once again the concrete and pipes were smashed and the drinking water fouled with dirty diapers and other waste.
In November 2003, Italian volunteers helped the villagers seal the water hole openings with concrete. But in a few months the villagers started suffering from liver infections and stomach diseases. The contaminated water was banned for use until January this year, when after heavy rainfalls the pollution was reduced. The villagers started using it again, until 10 days ago.
Kamal said the Palestinian Authority stopped passing complaints onto the IDF, because it fails to act on Palestinians' complaints against settlers.
An Oxfam source said the group would prefer investing the funds in new projects, rather than in repairing repeated sabotage carried out by Israeli citizens.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/542572.html
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$205.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
27. In response to a request by the head of the village council, Oxfam undertook to repair the pipes by coordinating with the IDF to ensure the safety of our staff and the community members who would carry out the repair work. On one occasion, the settlers opened fire when an international Oxfam staff member was with the team of labourers (September 2002). No one was killed, although several community members, and the international staff member, were lightly injured while trying to get out of the direct line of fire. The IDF were immediately informed but claimed they were not able to control the settlers.
28. After the repair of the pipe for the third time (April 2003), the settlers came the same day and used the fresh concrete to re-block the pipe. At the time of writing, Madama's residents still do not have water from this spring.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmintdev/230/230we34.htm
=============================================================
AND SEE MORE OF: "BECKY'S BRAIN"!!
"BECKY'S BRAIN!!: An Amazing 'Interview' With Becky Johnson of Santa Cruz", by JA
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/02/1719944_comment.php#1722028
SHE'S A REAL CHARACTER DOWN THERE IN SANTA CRUZ!!
For more, later, see (Becky Johnson):
Examiner ad demonizes Palestinian children, shows young girl with gun
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/14842/index.php#15929
Albert Einstein Condemned Israeli Nazis
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/15529/index.php#15842
Elise Cohen of The Fellowship Of Reconciliation talks about upcoming delegations to Israel
http://santacruz.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/14711/index.php
... YYYEP...!! SHE'S A TWISTED *WACKO*!!
Obviously there are no ~NOI laws~ against falsely accusing Jews of land theft, massacrres and becoming Nazi.
black plague, anyone?
27. In response to a request by the head of the village council, Oxfam undertook to repair the pipes by coordinating with the IDF to ensure the safety of our staff and the community members who would carry out the repair work. On one occasion, the settlers opened fire when an international Oxfam staff member was with the team of labourers (September 2002). No one was killed, although several community members, and the international staff member, were lightly injured while trying to get out of the direct line of fire. The IDF were immediately informed but claimed they were not able to control the settlers.
28. After the repair of the pipe for the third time (April 2003), the settlers came the same day and used the fresh concrete to re-block the pipe. At the time of writing, Madama's residents still do not have water from this spring.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmselect/cmintdev/230/230we34.htm
That doesn't mean it's not true this time.
27. On one occasion, the settlers opened fire when an international Oxfam staff member was with the team of labourers (September 2002). No one was killed...
28. After the repair of the pipe for the third time (April 2003), the settlers came the same day and used the fresh concrete to re-block the pipe. At the time of writing, Madama's residents still do not have water from this spring. "
BECKY: Can't they get their stories straight? Was the water pipe blocked or the well poisoned? This report seems to indicate the Palestinians are unable to get any water, poisoned or not.
But I guess when you are condemning Israel you can say they both poisoned the well AND blocked the pipe. The sum total message is that the Israelis are evil.
The Oxfam report is from 2002 and the new accusations are from 2005. The Oxfam report gives evidence to suggest that the more recent accusation is reasonabel but it is about a seperate case of water being denied to a Palestinian village by settlers.