On Thursday 5th July Israeli forces came to the village of Bardala in the northern Jordan Valley, Palestine, and confiscated water pipes that supply water to the village, cutting off the water supply for around 20% of farmers there. The village relies on agriculture as its main source of income, and is currently preparing for the harvest of guava and corn as well as other fruit and vegetables, and so the recent Israeli attack on the water supply comes at a critical time for farmers. Local residents and farmers are now sharing the remaining water as a temporary fix, but are trying to raise money to repair the damaged pipes.

This is not the first time that Israel has deliberately targeted the water supply in Bardala. In May last year, Israeli forces entered the village to cut Bardala’s water supply and confiscate the water pipes, also arresting two farmers. Water is a critical way in which the Israeli occupation is deliberately squeezing the livelihoods of Palestinians from the Jordan Valley. Much of the village of Bardala is in Area C, where the Israeli occupation controls building permits and almost all areas of local administration. 87% of the Jordan Valley is designated as Area C, and Palestinians living in Area C are not given permits for building any structure, including water tanks. This means that farmers from land in Area C cannot legally set up their own irrigation systems, even though there is plenty of water in the Jordan Valley. The Israeli government deliberately restricts the water supply to Palestinians in Area C, using most of the water to supply illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Save the Children estimates that the 9,000 Israeli settlers in the Jordan Valley consume almost 7 times as much water per day on average than the 60,000 Palestinians living there. Due to building restrictions in Area C, Palestinian farmers living in the Jordan Valley have no choice but to resort to connecting their water pipes to the Israeli-controlled water supply, which is deemed ‘illegal’ by the Israeli occupation. Read more about Israel’s ‘water apartheid’ policies in the Jordan Valley here.