Gisha asks Israeli Water Authority for information about water supply to the Gaza Strip

January 18, 2016

As part of its work, Gisha promotes fundamental rights of Palestinian residents of Gaza and with it, the ability to lead normal lives under adequate conditions. Given Israel’s control over Gaza’s infrastructure, Gisha monitors the supply of water from Israel to the Gaza Strip, and associated issues relating to water quality and sewage management in Gaza.

On January 18, 2016, Gisha filed a Freedom of Information Application with the Israeli Water Authority (Hebrew), seeking information and figures about the supply of water into Gaza, including the annual amount of water supplied to Gaza from Israel over the last seven years and Israel’s annual capacity for supplying water to Gaza and how it is determined. The Water Authority was also asked to state what rate Israel charges for every cubic meter of water it supplies to Gaza and how the Water Authority collects payment. Other questions in the petition related to the joint Israeli-Palestinian water committee, and water and sewage projects in the Gaza Strip.

We note that in 2015, information about water supply was also obtained from Mekorot, the company responsible for water operations and the supply of water into Gaza in 2015.