Water as a Weapon: The Systematic Deprivation of Water in Palestine
Written by Helen Lavinia Liebhaber and Norah Adams
Background
Throughout history, war and conflict have been employed as a mechanism to exploit human rights. Power corrupts all, leading to violations of our most sacred resource, water. To us at The AWA Project, water is more than a basic human right; it nurtures communities, transports cultural and spiritual heritage, and defines the quality of life. However, since prehistoric times, water has been used in conflict to cause detrimental harm through deprivation, destruction of water infrastructure, contamination of water sources, and diversion of supply (Angelakis et al., 2021). Water has been used as a means to get the upper hand in conflicts for resources, territorial disputes and strategic advantage.
Examples of the exploitation of water in conflict date back to around 750 BC (and earlier), for example, when Assyrian king Sargon II destroyed the irrigation network of the Haldians after his successful campaign in Armenia. In the 20th century, the leaves of the Yellow River were demolished to stop the advance of the Japanese in 1938 during the Sino-Japanese War, causing tens of thousands of deaths (Angelakis et al., 2021). Today, we are witnessing the State of Israel execute mass destruction of water infrastructure and the brutal use of water deprivation in the State of Palestine, more specifically, the Gaza Strip. Like many other rights, in the context of conflict, water has been given no respect as a vital finite resource or a human right. It has been (and continues to be) brutally used as a military target, an objective of conflict and a weapon in itself.
Since the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, with outwardly genocidal intentions, Israel has been occupying and actively disenfranchising Palestinians of their land, resources and fundamental human rights (Godlewski, 2010). In a letter published in 2024 by the United Nations, signed by Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of Palestine, he states:
On 9 October 2023, Israeli political and military commanders vowed “no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel” to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, branding them as “human animals,” claiming there were “no innocent civilians” in Gaza and threatening to unleash “hell,” we forewarned that Israel had declared all-out war on the Palestinian people. (p.1)
In this region of the Middle East, water resources have historically played a significant role in politics. After the 1967 war, Israel gained control of key water resources, including The Jordan River, the Mountain Aquifer, and the Coastal Aquifer, which are usually governed by international water law (Godlewski, 2010). Water has been used as an economic and political weapon by Israel to further its settlement processes. Israeli settlers now consume a significantly disproportionate amount of water compared to Palestinians (Muratoglu, 2024).
Figure 9. Water access and consumption disparities in Palestine (Muratoglu et al., 2024).
Timeline of events leading to the current crisis:
1948: The Arab-Israeli war resulted in the expulsion of over half of the Palestinian population (Muratoglu et al., 2024).
1967: The Six-Day War led to Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights, giving Israel control of water resources. Following the Six-Day War, Military Order No. 92 granted the Israeli government control of all freshwater resources in the Occupied Territories (Godlewski, 2010).
1979: The UN Security Council established a commission to analyze the situation in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including water resources. The Security Council included water issues in the mandate of the Commission, indicating the use of water by Israel as ‘an economic and even political weapon to further its policy of settlements’ (Tignino, 2010).
1987: The First Intifada began in response to Israel’s prolonged oppression (Muratoglu et al., 2024).
1993: The Oslo Accords included provisions for Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on water but ultimately strengthened Israel's control (Samad, 2024).
2007: Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip after an armed takeover of Gaza by Hamas (United Nations, 2024).
October 7, 2023: Attacks by Hamas on Israel.
October 9, 2023: The Israeli government announced its intention to cut off water and electricity to Gaza. Mekorot, the Israeli water company, cut off the water supply to Gaza.
October 2023- present: There has been significant destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure and restrictions placed on the entry of fuel, water, and sanitation supplies (Samad, 2024).
January 19, 2025: The Israeli Prime Minister’s office agreed to an agreement with Hamas to release the hostages held in Gaza. The agreement, which has already been violated on multiple occasions (Inlakesh, 2025), would see a “pause in fighting” in Gaza, leading to the phased release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
The Role of Water in Israel's Occupation and War Strategy
In Palestine, the essential resource of water has been systematically weaponized by the occupying force of Israel, leaving communities deprived (UN ESCWA, 2024). This is more than a by-product of war; it is an active, deliberate strategy pursued to undermine Palestinian resilience and construct an unbearable reality in occupation and conflict zones. It should be emphasized that water deprivation is a war crime (International Institute of Humanitarian Law, 2024) and brings catastrophic consequences to the Palestinian communities and their livelihoods.
Means of Water Deprivation
Destruction of Water and Sanitation Infrastructure
The most direct method of imposing dehydration is the destruction of water infrastructure in Palestine. More than 30 water wells have been destroyed during military operations in Khan Younis and Rafah in July 2024 (Reuter, 2024). Israeli airstrikes have also targeted desalination plants and wastewater treatment facilities in Gaza, resulting in severe contamination of existing water supplies. Most water treatment plants have been destroyed, making remaining water supplies scarce and contaminated, thus raising the risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery (Reuter, 2024). Targeting civilian infrastructures, including all water and sanitation facilities, violates international law (Institute of International Humanitarian Law, 2024). The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits attacks on objects indispensable to the survival of civilians.
Limitation on Fuel, Electricity and the Impact on Water Infrastructure
Water infrastructure relies on fuel and electricity supplies for pumping, desalination, and distribution. Blockades of those supplies accentuate the crisis. Fuel blockades have led to an "extreme reduction of the operational capacity of water pumps and desalination plants," consequently, up to 90% of Gaza no longer receives electricity supplies (CSIS, 2024). The current restrictions on essential repair materials - pipes, filters, and chemicals - mean broken infrastructure goes unrepaired (CSIS, 2024). Moreover, ineffective wastewater treatment plants have resulted in raw sewage being dumped into the sea, polluting the environment and further jeopardizing public health (CSIS, 2024). The United Nations Watercourses Convention of 1997 establishes equitable and reasonable use as a guiding principle in the utilization of water courses; Israel continues to violate this principle by restricting basic services essential to access water.
Bureaucratic Obstacles to the Entry of Humanitarian Aid
Any attempt by humanitarian agencies to intervene in this crisis has become characterized by complicated bureaucratic restrictions. Complex procedures have obstructed humanitarian water purification equipment and desalination units through approval delays (Oxfam International, 2022). Prolonged crises with civilian suffering, on account of Israeli authorities and their complicated procedures of approval for aid, keep the desalination units at border crossings, stuck for many weeks at times of acute shortage of water to deliver drinking water to civilians (UN ECWA, 2024). Such acts violate international humanitarian law, notably under Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, whereby the occupying power is required to ensure that the civilian population has food and medical supplies (ICRC - Commentary of 1958).
Impact on Communities
Public Health and Humanitarian Crisis
Systemic denial of water has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in Palestine, especially within Gaza, where access to clean water has collapsed in practical terms (Beiraghdar et al., 2024). Consequently, due to contaminated water, cholera, dysentery, and hepatitis have spread widely. It is important to highlight that more than a quarter of reported diseases in Gaza are due to poor water quality (Efron et al., 2018). Moreover, the destruction of sanitation facilities has left many hospitals struggling with hygiene, while secondary health crises-infections and diseases related to malnutrition-have become rampant (Doctors without Borders, 2024). To make matters worse, the devastation within Gaza's food system, aside from the thirsting population, has spilled into famine (UN OHCHR, 2024). Displacement has also worsened the crisis; hundreds of Palestinian families have been living under precarious conditions without any steady supply of drinking water (Beiraghdar et al., 2024).
The Negative Externalities for Women and Girls
Due to a shortage of clean water, women and girls' vulnerability increases as they undergo rigorous journeys to retrieve water for their families (UNFPA, 2024). Additionally, waiting in line for water under unsafe conditions not only undermines security but also intensifies the risks of being a victim of gender-based violence (UNFPA, 2024). Poor sanitation conditions endanger health and compromise dignity, particularly for women during pregnancy and menstruation, when access to clean and private facilities is essential (UN Women, 2023). In cultural contexts where privacy and modesty hold deep significance, the lack of proper sanitation exacerbates feelings of shame and distress.
Water Deprivation and Resource Destruction: The Case of Masafer Yatta (+972 Magazine by Basel Adra 2024)
The strategic use of water deprivation and resource destruction as a tool of occupation not only creates a humanitarian crisis but also attacks the cultural identity of the people. In Masafer Yatta, a cluster of Palestinian hamlets in the southern West Bank, Israeli forces destroyed historic water cisterns, some of them dating back to the Canaanite and Ottoman periods. These water sources are more than just a basic need; they are part of agricultural traditions and community heritage. Demolition of these sources cuts the people from their link to the land, contributing to the erasing of history and identity.
Inhabitants of Masafer Yatta are prohibited from connecting to the water network serving Israeli settlements. They thus have to resort to costly and irregular water deliveries. While Israeli settlers in the area consume an average of 20 times more water, residents of Masafer Yatta must collect rainwater in cisterns or purchase it at very high prices of up to NIS 1,744 per month for water consumption. The amount accounts for almost half a family's monthly income compared to the cost paid by a family in any of the neighbouring settlements, which is, on average, NIS 105. Such stark disparities are a testament to the water apartheid policies that continue to be practiced in the region.
Israel continues to retain complete control over all of the water resources that lie between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, thus systematically denying those to Palestinians. In 2022 alone, the Israeli army destroyed seven water cisterns and dozens of water tankers in Masafer Yatta. In one instance, the Israeli Civil Administration even poured concrete into Palestinian water wells to make them unusable (B’Tselem, 2023). These are not unintended accidents but part of a broader strategy of forcefully displacing Palestinian communities from their lands while simultaneously expanding Israeli settlements.
Beyond the logistical and economic problems this causes, deprivation is a source of psychological and social trauma. Besides, it greatly complicates everyday life for families and hampers traditional livelihoods, including grazing and farming, from being viable anymore, especially concerning the local Palestinians. This structural inequality within the growing climate crisis will only continue to worsen- keeping the Palestinian communities in a state of permanent deprivation and exile.
Call to Action: Water is a Human Right—Let's Talk About It!
The critical question must be posed: Why is water, a fundamental human right, being used as a weapon of war?
This starts with the root problem of the commodification of water, rooted in a hierarchical notion where human beings have innate and complete control of the environment, including its resources and services, for their own benefit without consequence. We must first challenge the commodification of water, working for policies recognizing access to clean water as a fundamental human right and water’s intrinsic role in shaping communities and culture. It is about holding all governments accountable and centring the voices of those directly affected by water apartheid and weaponization. Silence perpetuates this injustice.
Gaza Post-Conflict: Ensuring Sustainable Water Access
While the devastating impact of water scarcity during the conflict has been well documented, it is equally important to focus on the path toward the development and reconstruction of Palestine. The recent ceasefire, if upheld, does not guarantee sustainable solutions for water security. The reduction of international aid and geopolitical tensions, including the possibility of further military intervention, pose significant barriers to recovery efforts.
To support dignified and sustainable water access, we must advocate for coordinated efforts among NGOs, IGOs, the private sector, and governments. Immediate humanitarian aid is essential, but long-term strategies must also integrate water security into broader recovery and development plans. The international community must prioritize water access as a fundamental component within a humanitarian-development peace nexus.
Take Meaningful Action
Educate Yourself: Learn from communities that have experienced water weaponization, follow independent journalists, and critically evaluate mainstream narratives. Understanding historical and political contexts strengthens advocacy efforts.
Start the Conversation: Engage with friends, family, and colleagues about water justice and its role in conflicts. Open dialogue can challenge misinformation and elevate awareness.
Support Palestinian-Led Initiatives: Rather than general awareness efforts, engage directly with Palestinian-led organizations and activists. Follow their work, share their insights, and support grassroots movements to keep advocacy centred on affected communities.
Recommended Instagram Accounts to Follow:
@M7md_vo
@basilaladraa
@misanharriman
@Yuval_abraham
@Wizard_bisan1
@Hiddenpalestine
@Plestia.alaqad
@ahmedeldinTake Political and Civic Action: Advocate for policy change by signing petitions, contacting government officials, participating in protests, and engaging with local advocacy groups. Collective action is essential to driving systemic change.
Engage with Us: Connect through direct messages, comments, or shared reflections. We aim to foster a space where meaningful discussions on water justice and human rights can thrive.
References
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