Hung Out to Dry by Oxfam

Climatic changes across the Middle East and north and eastern parts of Africa are threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people who depend on farming and herding to survive. However, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, irregular and inadequate rain fall is only part of the farmers’ and herders’ problem.
Israeli policies and actions in the West Bank which limit Palestinian access to water have left farming and herding communities in an increasingly desperate situation. On 13 July 2011, the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) announced the allocation of more than US$5.5 million in emergency aid to Palestinian communities struggling with water scarcity. But the recent announcement by the Israeli government that it will double the size of illegal agricultural settlements in Area C and the Jordan Valley will only increase settlement control over natural resources, leaving Palestinians who depend on water to make a living fighting for survival.