Please help in saving the stolen waters of Al Hasbani and Al Wazani Rivers in south Lebanon
- by: No one
- recipient: International Community
I would like to ask all concerned and conscious individuals to help in succeeding this urgent cause so that many deprived communities and villages in south Lebanon can regain their stolen right and can be able to benefit from their natural resources without being threatened on a daily basis.
Al Hasbani and it’s tributary Al Wazani rivers are major sources of pure natural water for many southern villages in Lebanon. Both rivers spring in Lebanon and flow towards the occupied Palestine and lastly pour in Lake Tiberius. Al Hasbani river stretches about 21 km inside Lebanon and meets Al Wazani river about 4 km away from the borderline with the occupied Palestine. Some experts claim that Lebanon uses only about 7 million cubic meter from both Al Hasbani and Al Wazani rivers for the purpose of ensuring safe drinking water for about 40000 citizens in addition to some small irrigation projects to water about 675 Hectars distributed as follows (5.18 million cubic meter from Hasbani and 1.7 million cubic meter from Wazani). Accordingly, what Lebanon benefits from its own water resources are nothing in comparison to what Israel is stealing from Lebanon’s share. Unfortunately, Lebanon cannot benefit from both sources properly due to security purposes hence leaving Israel the only beneficiary of Lebanon’s natural waters. Annually Israel steals about “150 million cubic meter from Lebanese waters” as experts claim, but actually Israel is getting much more than these official numbers. The continuous threats of destructing and bombarding facilities make the accomplishment of any hydraulic project on both rivers a hard task and a major risk thus remembering what took place back in 1964 when Israel used air crafts and artilleries to hit the hydraulic facilities that the Lebanese government was building in order to reroute the course of water away from flowing into the Jordan river during the Arab-Israeli war. Luckily in spring 2001, Lebanon managed to start a water supply facility to Al Wazani village and it was considered a major step forward despite all the threats from the Israeli side who considered Lebanon a “Casus Belli” zone, because they felt threatened from the shortage in water supply that can result in the loss of about 50 million cubic meter of stolen water. Thus, preventing Lebanon from using its natural resources in order to steal it through “tens of ground aquifers along the borderline with Lebanon and through pumping the ground water of the basin above Marjeoun and Khyame valley”. The increase in need for water turns Israel into a hostile state continuously threatening Lebanon and occupying its land. Therefore, the main reason behind occupying Shebaa farms is to control major water resources in south Lebanon and mainly (Litani river, Hasbani river, and Wazani river) for its own benefit. On a daily basis Israel breaches international resolutions and no one dares to accuse Israel and face it with its criminal actions that can lead to enforce sanctions against its continuous hostilities as other states are treated.
I call for the International community with all its major components and high officials, civil society and concerned NGOs, and responsible individuals to act accordingly in order to prevent any further Israeli hostilities against Lebanon represented by looting the Lebanese water resources, threatening innocent citizens and destroying pumping facilities and equipments to join me in this campaign and sign this petition.
References:
BBC News. “Israel warns of war over water.” BBC News. 10 Sept. 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2249599.stm. Accessed in 16 Jan. 2012
Lebanese Communist Party. “ Israel Continues to Steal Arab Waters.” Central OKANAGAN Club Resource Center CPC. 5 oct. 2009. http://cpc.starvingmind.com/article_121.shtml. Accessed in 16 Jan. 2012
Janardhan, N. “ Israel Threatens War with Lebanon over Water Project.” Albion Monitor. 17 Sept. 2002. http://www.albionmonitor.com/0209a/copyright/lebanonisraelwater.html. Accessed in 16 Jan. 2012
Sign PetitionSign PetitionAl Hasbani and it’s tributary Al Wazani rivers are major sources of pure natural water for many southern villages in Lebanon. Both rivers spring in Lebanon and flow towards the occupied Palestine and lastly pour in Lake Tiberius. Al Hasbani river stretches about 21 km inside Lebanon and meets Al Wazani river about 4 km away from the borderline with the occupied Palestine. Some experts claim that Lebanon uses only about 7 million cubic meter from both Al Hasbani and Al Wazani rivers for the purpose of ensuring safe drinking water for about 40000 citizens in addition to some small irrigation projects to water about 675 Hectars distributed as follows (5.18 million cubic meter from Hasbani and 1.7 million cubic meter from Wazani). Accordingly, what Lebanon benefits from its own water resources are nothing in comparison to what Israel is stealing from Lebanon’s share. Unfortunately, Lebanon cannot benefit from both sources properly due to security purposes hence leaving Israel the only beneficiary of Lebanon’s natural waters. Annually Israel steals about “150 million cubic meter from Lebanese waters” as experts claim, but actually Israel is getting much more than these official numbers. The continuous threats of destructing and bombarding facilities make the accomplishment of any hydraulic project on both rivers a hard task and a major risk thus remembering what took place back in 1964 when Israel used air crafts and artilleries to hit the hydraulic facilities that the Lebanese government was building in order to reroute the course of water away from flowing into the Jordan river during the Arab-Israeli war. Luckily in spring 2001, Lebanon managed to start a water supply facility to Al Wazani village and it was considered a major step forward despite all the threats from the Israeli side who considered Lebanon a “Casus Belli” zone, because they felt threatened from the shortage in water supply that can result in the loss of about 50 million cubic meter of stolen water. Thus, preventing Lebanon from using its natural resources in order to steal it through “tens of ground aquifers along the borderline with Lebanon and through pumping the ground water of the basin above Marjeoun and Khyame valley”. The increase in need for water turns Israel into a hostile state continuously threatening Lebanon and occupying its land. Therefore, the main reason behind occupying Shebaa farms is to control major water resources in south Lebanon and mainly (Litani river, Hasbani river, and Wazani river) for its own benefit. On a daily basis Israel breaches international resolutions and no one dares to accuse Israel and face it with its criminal actions that can lead to enforce sanctions against its continuous hostilities as other states are treated.
I call for the International community with all its major components and high officials, civil society and concerned NGOs, and responsible individuals to act accordingly in order to prevent any further Israeli hostilities against Lebanon represented by looting the Lebanese water resources, threatening innocent citizens and destroying pumping facilities and equipments to join me in this campaign and sign this petition.
References:
BBC News. “Israel warns of war over water.” BBC News. 10 Sept. 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2249599.stm. Accessed in 16 Jan. 2012
Lebanese Communist Party. “ Israel Continues to Steal Arab Waters.” Central OKANAGAN Club Resource Center CPC. 5 oct. 2009. http://cpc.starvingmind.com/article_121.shtml. Accessed in 16 Jan. 2012
Janardhan, N. “ Israel Threatens War with Lebanon over Water Project.” Albion Monitor. 17 Sept. 2002. http://www.albionmonitor.com/0209a/copyright/lebanonisraelwater.html. Accessed in 16 Jan. 2012
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