Some 100 Israeli activists left Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to bring water to several isolated villages in the South Hebron Mount. These villages suffer more than anywhere else from Israel's racist water policy, as they lack connection to water pipes, and suffer from army attacks on what few water wells and deposits they have. Busses where harassed several times on the way, and stopped completely near the Carmel illegal settlement, where soldiers claimed the area was a closed military zone, though no warrant was shown. Activists got off the busses and started marching, passing the bewildered soldiers and policemen and moving on towards their destination. Attempts to stop the spontaneous march failed, and the hostile forces left the area.

Meeting with Palestinian partners, activists mounted water trucks and tractors and traveled the dessert until they reached a physical block on the road, put there by the army to make Palestinians' lives harder. A mass direct action, backed by a bulldozer hired for the cause, broke the road open and allowed water trucks to pass. At this point four soldiers appeared and tried to arrest the driver for the bulldozer, or at least stop it from moving. And so the activists split, leaving a small group to safe guard the bulldozer and allowing the majority to move on to the final destination.

It took the small group that stayed back two hours to convince the soldiers to leave and to secure the safe return of the bulldozer and its owner to their home. Meanwhile, the main group reached the destined villages and transferred eight trucks full of water to local residents. Four army vehicles showed up too late to stop the action, and though declaring the area a closed military zone (this time with a warrant) - could not really do anything to the activists.

With the road open, the water at its rightful place and with no arrests or wounded - the action was declared a success.

Partner organizations in the protest convoy:
Anarchists Against the Wall,
Humans without Borders,
Banki,
Bat Shalom,
Gush Shalom,
ICAHD,
Public Committee against Torture in Israel,
AIC,
Tarabut Hithabrut,
Hadash, Yesh Gvul,
Combatants for Peace,
Machsomwatch,
Maki,
Meretz,
Sadaqa-Reut,
New Profile,
Coalition of Women for Peace,
Physicians for Human Rights,


Taayush Arab Jewish Partnership;
Palestinian organizations supporting the water campaign:

House of Water &Environment,
Life Source,
Medical Relief Society,
Palestinian Environmental NGOs Net work (PENGON),
Palestinian Farmers Union,
Palestinian Hydrology Group,
Palestinian Institute for Water Issues Training,
Palestinian Peasants Union,


Union of Agricultural Work Committees;
International organizations supporting the water campaign:

International Solidarity Movement,
International Women's Peace Services,
Michigan Peacemakers Team,
CCIPPT-France Civil for Palestine.

* Israel has "entirely appropriated the Palestinians' share of the Jordan river" and uses 80% of a key shared aquifer

* West Bank Palestinians are not allowed to drill wells without Israeli permits, which are "often impossible" to obtain

* Rainwater harvesting cisterns are "often destroyed by the Israeli army"

* Israeli soldiers confiscated a water tanker from villagers who were trying to remain in land Israel had declared a "closed military area"

* An unnamed Israeli soldier says rooftop Palestinian household water tanks are "good for target practice"

* Much of the land cut off by the West Bank barrier is land with good access to a major aquifer

* Israeli military operations have damaged Palestinian water infrastructure, including $6m worth during the Cast Lead operation in Gaza last winter

* The Israeli-Egyptian blockade of Gaza has "exacerbated what was already a dire situation" by denying many building materials needed for water and sewage projects.

Sewage discharged from Palestinian communities in the West Bank flows by gravity towards Israel, principally to the west but also to the south (from Hebron and neighbouring communities) and towards the east (from the Jerusalem area). The discharge of untreated sewage is a danger to health, the environment and the water resources in the West Bank and
Israel. The Interim Agreement holds the Palestinians responsible for treating their sewage.

However, in contrast to the extensive activity evident in the field of water supply installations, no significant progress has been made with respect to Palestinian wastewater treatment plants and proper reuse of the effluents for agriculture, and this essential activity, which is a binding part of the Water Agreement, has been stalled for years. Most seriously affected are the Kishon, Alexander-Nablus, Modiin, Kidron and Hebron streams.