Israel disputes Amnesty's water report

JERUSALEM, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Israeli officials Monday flatly rejected a critical report by Amnesty International on water allocation between Israelis and Palestinians.

Amnesty's report slammed Israel for taking 80 percent of the water from an underground aquifer that runs almost entirely beneath the West Bank and cited alleged vast differences in daily water usage between the two communities, The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday.

But the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Israel has more than lived up to its water obligations under an interim agreement with the Palestinians.

"According to the agreement, 23.6 million cubic meters of water will be allocated to the Palestinians annually," the statement said. "In actual effect, they have access to twice as much water."

The statement said Israel "has fulfilled all its obligations" and even surpassed them. "The Palestinians, on the other hand, have significantly violated their commitments under the water agreement, specifically regarding important issues such as illegal drilling (they have drilled over 250 wells without the authorization of the Joint Water Commission) and handling of sewage. (The Palestinians are not constructing sewage treatment plants, despite their obligation to do so and the important foreign funding earmarked for this

purpose)."

The statement said the Palestinians have rejected an Israeli offer to supply desalinated water, "but this

possibility is systematically rejected due to political motivations."

Amnesty International said it was calling "on the Israeli authorities to urgently address the desperate need for water security in the (occupied territories), brought about by their violations of Palestinians' human rights."

But the Post said the Israeli Water Authority vehemently disagrees with Amnesty's figures and says it wasn't given a chance to respond.