Settlers fill their swimming pools as Bethlehem starved of water

From the UAE's The National

BETHLEHEM // Water taps have run dry in this venerable West Bank city, fuelling public frustration and alarming Palestinian leaders.

An acute shortage has panicked Bethlehem hoteliers into building massively expensive storage tanks, lest their customers flee to water-abundant Israeli resorts. Freelance profiteers have carved out a thriving black-market trade in water affordable only to a wealthy few.

Meanwhile, Bethlehem's residents, who no longer have enough water to bathe regularly, are sporting scruffy hair and soiled clothing.

While nearby Israeli settlements lavish water on swimming pools and gardens, Mohammed Farraj, 16, barely scrounged up enough for a proper wash for his first day working at Bethlehem's Stars & Bucks Café this week.

Luckily for him, his boss, Youssef Juma, 27, was sympathetic. "We had a week without water here," Mr Juma said. "I didn't bathe."

For years, and especially since 2008, Bethlehem's residents have had to grapple with water shortages even though the city, revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus, forms the backbone of Palestinian tourism.

Palestinian Authority (PA) officials, while pointing to several years of drought and population growth, have put the blame squarely on Israel and its control over West Bank water resources. But increasingly, the PA has been the focus of public anger. "The Palestinian Authority says it's because Israel isn't giving them the water; it's always Israel this and Israel that! But if that's the case, then find a solution!" yelled Nabil Giacaman, 26, the owner of Christmas House, a shop that sells religious trinkets in downtown Bethlehem's Manger Square. Water riots have erupted in Bethlehem's refugee camps and angry crowds of people increasingly turn up for answers at local government offices. more

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