INTRODUCTION

This report deals with the findings of our team in analyzing water quality in the West Bank from October 1994 to October 1996. This two year program was meant to investigate and analyze water samples from springs and cisterns in this area, and to determine the reasons behind the declining water quality of the West Bank. After the signing of the second "Oslo Accord" or the Taba agreement, in which the Palestinian negotiators essentially signed away all water rights and gave up the possibility of controlling this particular resource, the ability of Palestinians to obtain additional clean water has been greatly restricted (see annex I). Over-exploitation, continued occupation, lack of regulation or oversight, and improper waste disposal has made this study even more important - to determine the quality of the water and the causes for its contamination. Palestinians must have the tools to contain, as much as they are able, the damage done by the settlements and inadequate waste disposal systems.

Indeed, settlement activity in the West Bank has long been a major factor in the deterioration of the potable water supply for Palestinian villages located near or around settlements, and in the decline in the quality and quantity of water available for agricultural purposes. Jewish settlements and their related industrial sites have been responsible for over-exploiting local resources and contaminating water in all areas of the West Bank. Case after case has been documented of irresponsible waste disposal resulting in contamination of local water supplies. The current Israeli government's decision to "unfreeze" settlement expansion, and to allow for an influx of Jewish settlers into the West Bank, along with the inability of the local Palestinian population to control and preserve their own natural resources, promises a continuing deterioration of the environmental condition of the West Bank and a decline in the available usable water for Palestinians.

Background

Since the beginning of the Occupation in 1967, the Israeli authorities have used different methods to deprive the Palestinian people of their water rights. Israeli military order # 92, passed in August 1967, grants full authority over all water in the newly occupied territories to an Israeli official, appointed by the military governor. This official became responsible for granting operation licenses to new and existing water authorities, controlling methods of operation, and appointing directors of water authorities. After this, a series of military orders were passed in order to solidify and ensure total Israeli control over all waters in territories it occupied in 1967. This has long been considered one of the most important strategic reasons for Israel maintaining control over the West Bank and other occupied territories, and in fact current estimates show that nearly 67% of Israel's water supply comes from territories outside its 1948 borders, including some 35% from the West Bank and tributaries of the Jordan River. These military orders remain in effect until today.

Traditionally wells have supplied the bulk of fresh water used by Palestinians for both agricultural and domestic purposes. Prior to 1967, approximately 750 wells existed, of which only 413 were in operation. By 1990, only 364 wells were operational and serving the burgeoning Palestinian population. Israeli military authorities imposed severe restrictions on the maintenance and repair of wells, leading to a situation in which many wells have been rendered unusable and have a leakage rate of up to 20%. Any repairs require approval from the Israeli water authorities - approval which is very rarely given. In addition, since 1967 only 23 permits have been granted to drill new wells. Thus Palestinians have been forced to turn to other methods, often less safe, of water collection.

Because wells are controlled by the Israeli Civil Administration (the Israeli military authority which governs the occupied Palestinian territories), over half of the water consumption in the West Bank must come from surface waters and natural springs. Most disturbingly, the lack of oversight during the military occupation has allowed for the development of ecologically hazardous situations, arising from improper waste dumping and uncontrolled industrial activity. Surface water, the only water resource nominally under Palestinian control, has become increasingly polluted and unusable. This is a dangerous result since the local population has been denied access to ground water, thus making surface water, along with rain water, the main water resources for Palestinians. Currently, approximately 197 Palestinian villages remain without any water services at all.

Since the surface water supply is inadequate or often contaminated, and the Israeli occupation authorities have failed to provide even the most basic municipal services, Palestinians have constructed cisterns to collect rain water and runoff water. They are forced to use this water for domestic use, while the Israelis control and freely exploit the renewable water resources in the West Bank. As we will see in this report, the quality of water gathered in cisterns around the West Bank is poor and in many cases contaminated and a health hazard.

For these reasons LAWE - the Palestinian Society for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment initiated and followed up this project.

FINAL SUMMARY OF RESULTS: OCTOBER 1994-OCTOBER 1996

Difficulties in Data Collection

First it is important to state that the conditions under which this research was carried out were difficult and unstable. The political situation has become ever more volatile in the West Bank, and continued occupation over 70% of the West Bank (Area C), the fact that the Israeli military has not yet re-deployed in Hebron and that settlers often use violence to prevent Palestinian farmers from cultivating their land, greatly hindered our research. In addition, from September 1995 (when Oslo II was signed) to the present time, particularly after the Israeli elections at the end of May, settlement activity and land confiscation have been on the rise.

In fact, the introduction of the new hard-line Israeli government has virtually frozen the Oslo process. The formal approval and allocation of government funds for the expansion of settlements, and increased house demolitions in all areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, forced us to direct our attention to the immediate problem of trying to save houses from demolition and agricultural land from being destroyed. Settlers themselves have increased their harassment activities of villagers, including increasing incidents of settlers spraying Palestinian crops with pesticides and other poisons, in an attempt to intimidate Palestinians away from their land.

In addition, the continuing closure (which began in 1993) and several periods of siege (including a three week period of town and village arrest in March) greatly slowed the research ability of our team, as transportation and movement became difficult to impossible.

Finally, our field workers encountered difficulties in simply taking the water samples, as in one case near Hebron - several workers were attacked and assaulted by area settlers.

Nevertheless, this report represents our findings of the water quality of the West Bank, and shows our methodology for doing so.

THE REPORT

After the team of field researchers completed the task of collecting background information in order to compose the questionnaire, the team began collecting the information from the 170 villages visited for the study. Of these, the team found that 70 villages suffered directly from their location close to Jewish settlements, and that 60% of these villages report health-related problems directly relating to settlement polluting activity. In the beginning of March 1995, we held a workshop in which the field workers began analyzing the data gathered from the different villages from the north of the West Bank (in coordination with the laboratories at An Najah University), and throughout 1995 samples were taken from the center and south of the West Bank and analyzed by the Palestinian Hydrology Group.

Through the collected data the team discovered that since 1967, the area of cultivated land is decreasing rapidly due to the political and the environmental situation in the area. Continuing occupation, contaminated water, the inability to control their water resources and the failure of the current Oslo process to guarantee greater water rights for agricultural purposes has led to a situation in which only 4% of agricultural land is irrigated, a drop from 27% in 1967. In addition, land and water has been made unusable through improper waste disposal and produce has been contaminated, thus irreparably damaging the Palestinian agricultural economy.

In addition to difficulties relating to water, a number of other factors prevent farmers from using their land. Israeli authorities use several tactics to dispossess the Palestinian people:

• by declaring the area a military zone or Green Area;
• by confiscating land as state land;
• through the construction of Jewish-only by-pass roads (and the confiscation this has necessitated) - these roads bisect agricultural land, not only destroying the area but restricting access to lands on the far side of the road;

Settlers also use a number of different tactics to intimidate Palestinians from their land, or to prevent agricultural activity:

• by constructing a "ring road" around their settlements, which blocks access to lands between these roads and the settlements;
• by spraying pesticide and other poisons on Palestinian crops;
• by harassing or attacking farmers, verbally or physically threatening them, or blocking entry to agricultural lands.

These factors have forced those dependent on an agricultural income to look for other opportunities to support themselves and their families. We found that many people in villages, particularly in the north, have found work in Israeli factories (when there is not a total closure) instead of cultivating their land. The added danger, and perhaps the greatest threat, is that when land is no longer cultivated, the Israeli authorities consider it "unused" and is then vulnerable to confiscation. Thus water quality and control, together with occupation policies, work to separate Palestinians from their land, destroy the Palestinian agricultural economy, and contribute to practices and conditions which endanger the health and well-being of the Palestinian population.

NORTH OF THE WEST BANK

The team found that unclean water is one of the primary problems in the north, which is one of the most populated areas in the West Bank. There are also fertile valleys in this area with fresh-water springs, like Wadi Al-Shagur, al-Fara'a and Wadi Qana, and the farmers use the water in the valleys for domestic and agricultural purposes. The villages in this area are not linked with the Israeli water company Mekarot, as it serves only the nearby Israeli settlements, and Palestinian villages are systematically excluded from this and other basic municipal services which are made available to Jewish settlers.

After analysis, we found that a number of different factors adversely affect the quality of water in the north. These factors have created a situation in which both the produce and meat supplies from this area often pose health risks, due to unclean or contaminated water.

These villages suffer because of

local reasons:

1- We found that there are no municipal services for adequate sewage disposal. Municipalities lack the financial resources and the requisite responsibility to develop services, and in any case municipal leaders are often appointed by the Israeli authorities and are therefore disconnected from the needs of the people.

2- Contaminated water from improper solid waste disposal affects agriculture. Illnesses are caused by the subsequently contaminated water and produce. Agricultural marketing and the agricultural economy has suffered from produce rendered unfit for human consumption.

3- Residents engage in polluting activity, due to lack of awareness. For example, Arab residents wash their cars near the spring that supplies water to Fara'a village and refugee camp, near Nablus. Also the Fara'a milk company throws its waste in the valley. This waste contaminates the drinking water and agricultural areas. 40% of the children living near Fara'a valley suffer from diarrhea, malaria, typhoid and intestinal worms related to the contaminated vegetables and water they consume from this area. This problem for Fara'a village is aggravated by uncontrolled dumping from nearby Israeli installations (see below).

4- From our visits to the clinics in the area we found that there is a high percentage of children (1-6 year olds) suffering from diarrhea and amebic-related illnesses.

5- The residents living in the area of the Fara'a, Qana and Shagur valleys use septic tanks to store waste. These septic tanks are unsuitable according to health specifications for three reasons: because of their location near populated areas; their size, which attracts many poisonous insects (this problem becomes more critical in the summer time); and the proximity of the septic tanks to cisterns used for storing water for domestic use.

Settlement-related problems:

1- Jewish settlers destroy cultivated areas by spraying chemical pesticides during the agricultural season. Residents believe that their goal is to destroy agricultural economy of the Palestinians - to render the land unusable, thus leaving the land vulnerable to confiscation. In one example of last year in the village of Turmous Ayya settlers sprayed crops of vegetables, cereals and olive trees with a chemical pesticide, irreparably damaging the area.

2- Settlements improperly dispose of waste, since the settlements have no formal restrictions on polluting activity. For example, Ariel settlement, one of the largest in the West Bank, pipes their sewage to a site near Marda village, subsequently badly contaminating their local spring. Settlers from Kfar Saba, near Qalqilya, also use Arab lands near Qalqilya to dump their waste. To dispose of waste, they mix the garbage with soil. When this "mixing" takes place, however, a powerful smell rises into the air and, because of the high humidity of the area, remains in place for a long time. This makes breathing difficult.

In addition, one of the most polluted areas in the northern part of the West Bank is the Fara'a valley in the Nablus region. The Fara'a valley, with its 16 fresh water springs, is considered one of the richest agricultural areas in the West Bank. After some tests, we found that the water in the valley is contaminated by the sewage dumped by el-Fara'a prison and military camp. Open sewage from the prison and camp mixes with fresh surface water.

3- Many Israeli factories like Geshurei Industries and Chemikalem Laheqla'ut Vitasia Ben Tsion, both near Tulkarem and located on Arab confiscated land, have been allowed to operate despite ecologically and health-endangering practices. Lack of oversight by uninterested Israeli military authorities and inadequate regulations concerning waste disposal have allowed these factories to continue operations. Industrial waste from these factories is dumped on nearby Arab land. Improper waste disposal from four other industrial settlements in the north - Burkan, Ariel, Karnei Shomron, and Kadumim, directly affects agriculture, the soil and the drinkable water in the area, significantly affecting public health.

For these reasons villages near Israeli settlements suffer more than other villages. The situation is made more difficult because of the aggressive activities of the settlers in bulldozing land to expand or building factories free of normal legislative environmental constraints. We found, as we took water samples, that samples taken near settlements were significantly more polluted than elsewhere.

SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY IN THE NABLUS AREA

The city of Nablus was taken as an example for this study because the springs are located within the city and are easily accessible with limited funds. Most of the springs in Nablus are used for drinking purposes, like several other towns and villages in the north. Because chemical analysis of the water samples is expensive, our chemical analysis has covered only the springs of Nablus. (For all references to graphs, charts and diagrams, please refer to the project's interim report of March 1996).

Methodology:

The collected water samples were analyzed in the laboratories of Bethlehem University and PHG laboratories in Gaza. The chemical composition of the water samples are listed in attached table. This table shows the results for the chemical composition of some springs which were taken from Rofe & Raffety (1963). All results were listed in the appendices regardless their time of collection, completeness or accuracy. This means that some analysis was carried out in the 1950's and 1960's, and others in 1994. Some are complete, while in others one or more of the ions were not determined. In addition to that, the margin of error for the ionic balance is good in some analyses but is high (exceeding 10%) in others.

Only the analysis with an analytical error of less than 10% were considered for the graphical representation, although all results are included in the attached table.

The software Groundwater for Windows (GWW) was used for the graphical representation of the analysis. The GWW is able to illustrate Piper-diagrams, Schoeller-diagrams, Stiff diagrams, and can easily classify water for irrigation purposes using the Richards classification. Total cations, total anion, ionic balance as well as SAR are calculated and shown automatically for each sample.

The classification of Langguth, 1965 was used to determine different water types. This classification divides the diamond of the Piper diagram into 7 regions depending on the percent of the concentration (meq/l) for total earth alkalis, bicarbonate and chloride or sulfate.

Springs of the City of Nablus:

Water samples representing 10 springs scattered throughout Nablus were collected and analyzed in the summer of 1994. The analysis of a few samples from the spring of Nablus between 1954 and 1963 were reported by Rofe & Raffety (1965) and are considered in this study. Most of these springs lie in the Zeimar catchment, while one spring (Ein Dafna) lies in the Fara'a catchment east of Zeimar. All these springs issue from the Cretaceous-Tertiary Transition Chalk with chert. This means that the water of the springs percolates through limestone and chalk before it flows out of the springs.

Most of the springs of Nablus have a low EC value which ranges between 350 uS/cm and less than 500 uS/cm. A few samples (especially the polluted springs) show higher EC values, which range between 620 uS/cm for Ein Subian and 1100 uS/cm for Ein Shrashe.

The water of the unpolluted springs is characterized by its low content of K+ and SO4. In most of the springs Mg++ is also low due to the absence of dolomite in the aquifer. The concentration of the other major ions is within the normal natural range except nitrate, which shows high concentration in some springs such as Ein Dafna and Ein Beit-el Ma' (table 1). The polluted springs Ein Subian, Ein Foad and Ein Shrashe show in general higher concentrations for all ions.

On the Piper diagram, all the included unpolluted springs have alkaline water with prevailing bicarbonate like other unpolluted water from carbonate aquifers. Two samples from Ein Dafna and one sample from Ein Qaryon tend to be shifted into the area of earth with alkaline water with bicarbonate and sulfate as a result of the high concentration of SO4. Such values are too high and may be due to an error in carrying out the analysis.

The Piper diagram show the polluted springs (Ein Shrashe, Ein Foad and Ein Subian) plotted in the area of earth with an increased portion of alkalis and prevailing bicarbonate. They are shifted to the upper part of the field towards more CL and SO4.

Samples were also taken and analyzed from the following two valleys (only preliminary results listed below):

• Wadi al Shagur:

Is polluted by large amounts of bacteria caused by the sewage water released into the water of this valley. The nitrate percentage is very low although the nitrate level in the unpolluted waters should be high, considering their source. Chlorine is also very high.

• Wadi Qana:

Is also very polluted by bacteria caused by sewage water. What is very strange in this case is that the nitrate percentage is 0%, which means that there is a large amount of bacteria in the water. Chlorine is very high- it is twice what is allowed by the world health specifications.

CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN REGIONS OF THE WEST BANK

In the central and southern areas of the West Bank, the team found many of similar problems as were found in the north. All villages located next to or near Jewish settlements suffer from aggressive activity on the part of settlers, settlement expansion, the construction of massive Jewish-only by-pass roads and deteriorating water quality.

In the central area of the West Bank, villages are particularly hard hit by improper sewage disposal from area settlements. Currently, in the area of the Shuwara, Zatara and Deir Salah villages, east of Bethlehem, sewage from Teqo'ah settlement drains onto the villagers' lands. Compounding this problem, since the occupation began the development of a sewage disposal system has been put on hold. The result is that this area has a river of sewage which badly contaminates the area. Area residents complain of a large population of horseflies and a high incidence of skin disease.

In El Khader village, just south of Bethlehem, the Efrat and Daniel settlements have been dumping their sewage on lands currently cultivated with apples and grapes. The residents tried to redress this ongoing six year problem, with no success.

In Hebron, Surif, Beit Omar, Al Fawwar Refugee Camp, Nahalin and Yatta villages in the south of the West Bank, which is famous for its fertile soil and grape harvest, villagers suffer both from "pesticide attacks" from area settlers, which damages or destroys agricultural areas, and from industrial waste from the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba.

Indeed Kiryat Arba settlement is the main problem for these villages, as this settlement comprises the main source of pollution in the Hebron area. A tile factory is located in this settlement's industrial area. This factory used to flush its waste water, with solid particles, through the sewage system, thereby clogging the pipes and disrupting the entire system. The city of Hebron received a court order for the factory to stop this practice, and now the waste water is trucked off in tanks and dumped on a Palestinian field. The waste water contains high levels of calcium carbonate, which increases the already high pH level of the land.

Kiryat Arba settlement also is responsible for dumping sewage in the al Fawwar Valley, significantly damaging the water supply to the Al Fawwar refugee camp, a camp which houses 15,000 people. This camp survives under appalling conditions, aggravated by the lack of a sewage system, powerful noxious odors and poor services. The clinic in al Fawwar shows a high percentage of amoebic infection, mostly from water-based sources. Six in ten children under one year are anemic and 65% of pregnant also suffer from anemia. Generally health conditions are poor in this area.

Other dangerous practices include improper waste disposal on the part of the Arab villages, that the villages are still deprived of the ability to develop their own infrastructure and that many villages remain without water.

SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY IN THE CENTER AND SOUTH WEST BANK

The springs of Artas village near Bethlehem, Aroub village near Hebron and springs in the Halhoul area were tested, along with cisterns in these areas. The gravest problems were found in the southern area near the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, one of the seven industrial settlements of the West Bank. The Palestinian Hydrology Group in Jerusalem conducted the scientific analysis.

Particularly in the central area of the West Bank, near Bethlehem, Jerusalem and Ramallah, the team found a high concentration of nitrates and chlorides, and addition to a high percentage of total choliform bacteria. This was found particularly in Sinjel, Jifna and Ein Ayyoub springs near Ramallah.

One of the main findings was that water stored in cisterns has become significantly polluted through uncontrolled dumping of sewage, and that this water cannot be purified through treatment.

In the south, the team found that the local population used significantly fewer cisterns, and instead relied on surface water. The wells seemed in good condition but many springs, however, were highly polluted.

Methodology:

The Palestinian Hydrology Group analyzed the samples from the central and southern regions of the West Bank. As part of their ongoing work, the PHG regularly takes samples from a number of different streams for comparative purposes. The samples used in this study reflect a general trend of increasing ions and cations, plus increasing total choliform bacteria. The samples were taken throughout 1995

Findings:

Artas spring (Bethlehem area): Highly salinated and the concentrates of major ions and cations increasing. Current level of nitrates 175/1 million. Chloride concentration: 90/1 million, Sulfate: 65/1 million. Total choliform bacteria also is on the rise.

Aroub spring (Hebron area): The team had similar findings, but the TDS (total dissolved salts) reached 192/1 million. Chloride was at more than 185/1 million. Sulfates: 90/1 million.

Halhoul spring (Hebron area): The team discovered this stream to be the most polluted spring in the area. They found a TDS of 2,850/1 million, nitrates: 420/1 million, and chlorides: 470/1 million.

CONCLUSION

The research team discovered, from this analysis, that years of neglect during the continued military occupation of the West Bank has resulted in a dangerous spiraling situation of contaminated water and soil, unclean water, and contaminated produce. Unregulated waste dumping from industrial areas, the use of unsafe agricultural products, and improper waste disposal have contributed to this deteriorating situation. Surface water, and upper-level ground water has become dangerously polluted.

Therefore, the second phase of this project is to enact concrete methods on both the legal and public awareness levels to address these findings.