West Bank Villages Face Shortage Of Water While Settlements Thrive
Palestinian villages such as Al Hadidiya in the Jordan Valley are suffering from chronic water shortages, write Layan Masri and Loor Awwad.
The dirt roads leading to the Palestinian community of Al Hadidiya can be recognized from the tire tracks from cars and tractors in the winter mud.
Al Hadidiya is located in the northern Jordan Valley, a small village with a population of less than 200. Most of them are children, women and elderly, as most of the younger people have moved out in search of jobs or to pursue higher education. Palestinians residing there live in tents surrounded by arid mountains and rocky fields.
Most of the year, the hills that dot the area are yellowish, dry and dusty. Like all other Palestinian villages in the Jordan Valley, Al Hadidiya struggles to supply itself with water. Instead of taps and sinks, yellow, rusty water tankers are omnipresent, scattered amid the tents and sheep pens. A few acres of fields surround the area, stretching wherever the land is flat enough — yet the earth remains dry and the fields barren most of the year. With the cost of tanked-in water four to five times more expensive than tap water, the residents of Al Hadidiya have barely enough water to sustain themselves, so there’s no question of using it for agriculture. Only during the rainy season in winter are crops sowed and harvested — not cash crops, but rather wheat and barley to serve as fodder for the sheep and goats.
Standing in the empty fields, Abu Saqr, one of the elders of Al Hadidiya, points toward a greener area a few hundred meters away, saying, “Here is one of the settlements.” On the adjacent hill, the monochrome landscape gives way to an oasis of colors: a small island of lush vegetation, red roofs and white walls.
