US project aims to improve water access for Palestinian farmers
The US consulate in Jerusalem launched a $10 million water project to increase Palestinian farmers' access to treated irrigation water.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The US Consulate in Jerusalem launched a $10 million project on Oct. 15 to support the water sector in the West Bank governorate of Jericho. In attendance during the announcement of the launch was Jason Greenblatt, US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
The project will expand the network of pipelines that flow into the wastewater treatment plant in Jericho, connecting 10,000 new residents to the network, which was funded in 2016 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This means that the new project (network expansion), which should be ready by early 2018, will connect 70% of the residents of Jericho to the water treatment plant, which, in turn, was funded by the Japanese government in the city and launched by Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in June 2014.
The project will be of great help to the farmers in the city of Jericho and the Jordan Valley, especially palm farmers, as it will increase their irrigation resources, which is the biggest problem plaguing this sector.
Water scarcity is the main problem faced by palm farmers in Jericho, as Israeli authorities control the water resources in Jericho and the Jordan Valley, which are in Area C, and prevent Palestinians from digging new water wells.
