Israel can’t be blamed for everything, including problems with water supply
Headline: "The suffering of water cuts and 'air prices'"
"The questions posed to the Water Department and the relevant officials are: Why is the water supply to many neighborhoods and areas cut off for lengthy periods, while other neighborhoods have water all the time? Does the Water Department not possess the technical know-how to deal with the problem of an unfair allocation of water, with the problem of leaks of great quantities of water, or with the problem of contamination following periods of water stoppage? The answer that most citizens receive, when they submit a complaint to the Water Department in Ramallah, is that the Israeli company is responsible for the stoppages. However, this answer does not explain how the Israeli company could be responsible for a water stoppage in certain places, while other places enjoy a constant water supply; likewise, it fails to explain who is responsible for the other problems facing citizens… It is true that Israel controls all the water sources in the occupied lands, and it is also true that the Israeli occupation has a part in limiting the quantities of water that reach the Palestinians, while water flows freely to the settlements inside Israel. However, the occupation cannot be blamed every time for every failure and shortcoming, since it is not responsible for the unfair allocation of the water, for water pollution, for citizens having to pay 'air prices' because of [faulty] water meters (according to the writer, the meters turn at maximum speed owing to the infiltration of air into the water pipes, such that the water bills do not reflect actual water use. – Ed.), for delays in repairing faults, or for most problems that could be fixed if the existing failures and faults that cause citizens great suffering, were dealt with."
"The questions posed to the Water Department and the relevant officials are: Why is the water supply to many neighborhoods and areas cut off for lengthy periods, while other neighborhoods have water all the time? Does the Water Department not possess the technical know-how to deal with the problem of an unfair allocation of water, with the problem of leaks of great quantities of water, or with the problem of contamination following periods of water stoppage? The answer that most citizens receive, when they submit a complaint to the Water Department in Ramallah, is that the Israeli company is responsible for the stoppages. However, this answer does not explain how the Israeli company could be responsible for a water stoppage in certain places, while other places enjoy a constant water supply; likewise, it fails to explain who is responsible for the other problems facing citizens… It is true that Israel controls all the water sources in the occupied lands, and it is also true that the Israeli occupation has a part in limiting the quantities of water that reach the Palestinians, while water flows freely to the settlements inside Israel. However, the occupation cannot be blamed every time for every failure and shortcoming, since it is not responsible for the unfair allocation of the water, for water pollution, for citizens having to pay 'air prices' because of [faulty] water meters (according to the writer, the meters turn at maximum speed owing to the infiltration of air into the water pipes, such that the water bills do not reflect actual water use. – Ed.), for delays in repairing faults, or for most problems that could be fixed if the existing failures and faults that cause citizens great suffering, were dealt with."