On 15th August the Israeli occupation authorities deliberately cut off water used to irrigate hundreds of acres of agricultural land in Bardala –  a village very close to the Green Line in the northern West Bank.

Such a measure directly threatens the destruction of newly planted vegetable seedlings which would inflict a very heavy loss on Palestinian farmers. This is particularly serious as it is the second time in the past year that the occupation authorities have deliberately cut off water in the region, knowing that the Bardala water basin is one of the richest Palestinian groundwater sources in the area. This water is being stolen from the Palestinian community on a daily basis via three huge wells that have been drilled by the Israeli water company, Mekarot, which have an estimated capacity of 3000 m3 per hour. The water is then sold directly to nearby illegal Israeli settlements.