DaysofPal- In the occupied West Bank, access to water has become a tool of control and displacement against the Palestinian communities by the Israeli occupation and settlers, as they are using it to exert pressure and restrict basic needs.
Hundreds of thousands struggle daily to secure the little water that is essential for life.
Data from the Palestinian Water Authority shows that over 85 percent of Palestinian water sources remain under Israeli control, making scarcity a chronic, structural issue.
Experts say attacks on wells, springs, pipelines, and pumping stations are part of a broader strategy to weaken Palestinian communities and expand settlements.
Mahmoud al-Saifi, a settlement affairs researcher, noted that 2025 saw unprecedented settler growth, including nearly 200 kilometers of roads built exclusively for settlers.
The settler population now approaches one million across roughly 700 sites in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with daily attacks on Palestinian villages increasingly common.
Palestinian officials describe water-related violations as occurring on two levels: settlers directly target water infrastructure, while administrative and security restrictions prevent Palestinians from developing their own systems.
Many communities are forced to buy water from the Israeli company Mekorot, whose deep drilling near Palestinian sources lowers water tables and dries springs even in rainy seasons.
Key examples include the Ein Samiya well field near Ramallah, serving 19 villages and roughly 70,000 people, and the Al-Auja spring in the Jordan Valley, blocked by nearby settlement outposts.
In Bardala and Susiya, assaults on pumping stations and pipelines, combined with electricity cuts, have severely disrupted agriculture and pastoral life.
Hassan Mleihat of the Al-Baidar Organization said these measures are coordinated between settlers, Israeli occupation, and Mekorot, systematically depriving Palestinian Bedouin and rural communities of essential water, which is a policy he described as “silent displacement.”
The human impact is severe as average Palestinian water use is 82 liters per person per day, compared with 247 liters for Israelis, and drops to just 26 liters in unconnected communities. Only 36 percent of West Bank residents have daily running water, with most relying on rooftop tanks.
Rights organizations warn that without international intervention, these policies will worsen humanitarian suffering and accelerate forced displacement, leaving Palestinian communities increasingly vulnerable under siege.
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