Some kids find rumors fun in grade school. A child makes up something about a schoolmate, tells it to the whole class, and that schoolmate ends up crying from embarrassment. But what is he embarrassed of?
The rumor is simply a lie, a lie that needs to be confronted and replaced with the truth.
So here is the rumor:
Media outlets, NGO’s, and pro-Palestinian propagandists are currently claiming that Israel is “cruelly [using] water as a weapon against innocent Palestinian civilians [and] cruelly denying the population an adequate supply.”
The Independent pushed this rumor even further when it posted this as a headline:
Unfortunately for the readers, the article is far from the truth here. After a short investigation, UK Media Watch was able to diffuse this rumor.
Here is the truth:
Israel, as is the Middle East, is incredibly hot in the summer. Needless to say, when it’s hot, people drink more water. Water demand increases which results in shortages.
While Palestinian Authorities have claimed that “Israel has cut off the water supply to large areas of the West Bank,” the truth is that there were simply water shortages in the West Bank, in general —in Israeli settlements as well as Palestinian areas. Muslims and Jews experienced a water shortage.
Israel’s actions have been quite the opposite of what the media is claiming.
In addition to sorting out the water shortages, Israel has increased the water supply in Palestinian areas and is specifically accommodating Muslims during their fasting period of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, Muslims fast in the day, only eating and drinking at night. Therefore, Israel has increased the water supply during night-time in order to meet their needs.
The accusation that Israel would think to decrease water supply to Palestinians is baffling. In fact, just recently, in June, “the water supply to Hebron and Bethlehem [was] expanded [by] 5,000 cubic meters per day in order to meet the needs of the residents,” according to water supplier Mekorot.
Israel has no desire to interfere with Ramadan or to cut off Palestinians’ water supply.
President Reuven Rivlin’s visit to a Ramadan fast-breaking feast a few days ago further demonstrates Israel’s true priorities:
Addressing the municipal and faith community leaders from the Muslim and Druze communities, Rivlin spoke about the horrific Sarona Tel Aviv and Orlando terror attacks. “[We] must insist,” Rivlin explained, “that murder and violence are the result of intellectual distortion which has nothing to do with a healthy religion.”
Rivlin concluded beautifully by saying that, “Our lives and your lives here in this country are intertwined. We are here together, and we will remain here together.” Israel strives for, Rivlin summarized, a society of “equality and fairness…that we all deserve together.”
Contributed by CAMERA Intern Penina Simkovitz