Most Gazans don’t have a regular water supply because of the shortage of diesel used for pumping water.
Now Israel has rejected an application for import of a French-made water purification system into Gaza despite a drinking water crisis since the 3 week war last month.
The French Foreign Ministry said that Tel Aviv had blocked the entry of the desperately needed water purification plant and had forced its repatriation. No reason appears to have been given for the Israeli decision.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that Israel’s 23-day January war on Gaza has pushed its sewage system to the brink of collapse, with increased risk of groundwater contamination in Gaza.
Warning of serious public health risks, the World Bank has urged Israel to permit fuel into Gaza in order to operate about 170 water and sewage pumps. The bank also requested Israel to permit the maintenance of the sewage lake in northern Gaza lest it overflow and overwelm the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza.
“The most dangerous thing is the contamination of drinking water with sewage. We need an international organization like the World Health Organization to investigate the matter,” said Monther Shoblak, head of (CMWU) Gaza Coastal Municipalities Water Utility.
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