Bring Water to Gaza Residents!
- by: Care2
- recipient: Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 10,000 Gaza residents do not have water taps anywhere near their homes. On top of this, about 60 percent of Gaza residents do not have reliable access to water at all.
After the Hamas takeover of Gaza in 2007, Israel imposed sanctions against border crossings and materials exchanges across the borders. Israel officials say these sanctions are imposed in order to meet the humanitarian needs of the residents of Gaza.
But now, those basic needs of the residents of Gaza are being grossly neglected. Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is dealing with a crisis of food security, shelter, energy and education. But perhaps most critical is the unavailability of water to Gaza residents, and the critical need for materials to repair water and sanitation services.
Urge Israeli officials to loosen the sanctions on Gaza to allow passage of materials for repairing and building water sanitation facilities. Clean water is essential to life, and a humanitarian effort that neglects this fact is no effort at all.
Dear Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak,
In August 2009, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Jerusalem released a report detailing the humanitarian issues that Israel's sanctions are creating for the people of Gaza.
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One of the most critical pieces of this crisis is the shortage of clean water in Gaza. OCHA estimates that more than 10,000 Gaza residents do not have taps anywhere near their homes, and that about 60 percent of Gaza residents do not have reliable access to water at all.
In September of this year, UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories Maxwell Gaylard recommended the loosening of the sanctions on Gaza in order to bring in materials for the repair and construction of water sanitation facilities.
We are not asking for a complete removal of the sanctions. But if these sanctions are intended to make sure Gaza residents have access to humanitarian support, then it is necessary that they be loosened in order to provide residents with materials for these sanitation facilities. This action must be taken before the situation gets worse.
According to the Gaza Coastal Municipal Water Utility, only five-to-ten percent of Gaza's groundwater is potable. If pollution of this water continues, it will not be suitable for human use by the year 2014. This is a critical situation, and needs to be addressed immediately.
We urge you to allow materials into Gaza for the construction and repair of water sanitation facilities, for the sake of Gaza's citizens.
Thank you for your time.
