GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians living in the border areas of the Gaza Strip rely on wells to secure drinking water and to irrigate their crops, as the Hamas-run local municipalities fail to assume their responsibility to supply water to these areas.
In an Aug. 25 statement, the Hamas-affiliated Water and Environment Quality Authority announced a ban against the digging of water wells in all Gaza governorates, under the pretext of fighting a severe decline in groundwater levels and quality due to over-exploitation of the aquifer into which the wells are drilled.
