Water

Israelis say they came and made the desert bloom, and driving through the desert south of Ramallah, the green lawns of the settlements stick out among the bare, dry, rocky hills. 

Meanwhile, in Jenin, the water has been cut off for almost three weeks.

We arrived at Majd's family's house last Wednesday afternoon to find the faucets unresponsive. The family's storage tank had just run out, but apparently the water had been shut off for 13 days. “It's just what happens sometimes,” Majd tells me, but she's nearly as frustrated as I am shocked. “Israel controls our water, so they can do whatever they want.”

Many who can afford it store water in cisterns, which provide a safety net of reserve water. Majd's family is even luckier—her father has another tank at his shop, and when their tank ran out, they siphoned water from his. Still, the stored water won't hold out forever, and we have to be very careful about things like washing dishes. And we're the lucky ones. “Lots of people have to buy water when this happens,” Majd says.

I was confused about what was going on. How is it ok to cut off a city's water? So I started researching the issue. I've heard so much about disputes over land, but in such a dry region, it makes sense that water is a valuable resource. Like everything surrounding the conflict, there's really no simple answer, and figuring out what is actually going on amid the angry accusations and defenses feels like separating tangled jewelry. Of course it's more complicated than Israel arbitrarily deciding to cut off Jenin's water supply, and I'm still trying to piece it all together. Another post should be coming soon.