Israel - Palestine: Main aquifer endangered by untreated sewage

An important water source for both Israelis and Palestinians is in danger due to pollution from sewage, a new Israeli governmental report stated.

About 2.8 million people, including Palestinians and Israeli settlers, live in the West Bank, but "due to conflicts and economic problems, the effluents of more than two million people do not go through efficient pollution treatment", the report by the Israeli Ministry of Environment, the Civil Administration in the West Bank and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), stated.

The sewage has penetrated the soil, polluting groundwater and springs. The authors warn that the mountain aquifer under the West Bank is highly sensitive to pollution and damage to the resource may be irreversible.

The report, based on extensive monitoring of streams, said 94 percent of Palestinian sewage in the West Bank went untreated or was partially treated and ended up in rivers and streams, while only slightly more than 1 percent was treated in the whole of the occupied Palestinian territories. About 30 percent of the Israeli sewage in the territory went untreated.