A United States representative visited a village in the occupied West Bank Tuesday, where he witnessed the Israeli government denying local residents access to water.
Democratic Representative Andy Levin visited the Palestinian village of Susiya, south of Hebron (Al-Khalil), and saw the Israeli government lay in pipes across the village to deliver water to a nearby Israeli settlement.
“Yesterday, I traveled to the southern West Bank, including the Palestinian village of Susya, which the Israeli government has destroyed twice and currently denies access to water,” Levin tweeted.
Yesterday, I traveled to the southern West Bank, including the Palestinian village of Susya, which the Israeli government has destroyed twice and currently denies access to water. pic.twitter.com/VTDzdoJTyl
— Rep. Andy Levin (@RepAndyLevin) November 6, 2019
“Yet we watched the government utility, right before our eyes, lay in pipes right across the village’s land to deliver tap water to an illegal Israeli outpost nearby,” the Michigan congressman added.
“It was simply incredible. As angry as the situation made me, the resilience of the Palestinian villagers left an even stronger impression.”
Susiya, a rocky hamlet of several hundred people, is one of more than a dozen Palestinian herding communities in the southern West Bank.
Access to Clean #Water is a Human Right, so Why is #Palestine an Exception? By Ramzy Baroudhttps://t.co/TqJvo2AAHW pic.twitter.com/MdBKKGZjE0
— Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 3, 2019
Consisting mostly of tents, and without running water or electricity, the village has risen to international prominence in recent years as it faced demolitions by Israel.
Susiya is flanked by an illegal Jewish settlement built in 1983 on land confiscated from Palestinian villagers, displacing a number of residents who had lived around the ancient ruins for decades.
Three years later, the Israeli government declared the ruins and surrounding village land an archaeological site, subsequently forcibly evicting all of the Palestinian inhabitants.
(Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, PC, Social Media)
Very well written article. Thank you Rep. Levin for speaking out. I hope you come back to the U.S. and continue to do so.