ZAKARIYA al-Zubaydi, commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, said last Sunday, that ‘Israel’s escalation of the situation, assassinations and aggression against our people and the resistance factions reflect the official policy of the occupation government.
‘This exercises violence and sheds Palestinian blood as part of a political game and a card it uses in the forthcoming Israeli elections.’ He stressed that the calm with Israel is over and said the Brigades rejects the renewal of the calm.
Al-Zubaydi said the Israeli government was the party that was largely responsible for aborting the calm ‘by which we have abided for one whole year.
‘It has become an option that we reject under the current circumstances, for the calm will serve Israel alone and its continuing attacks.
‘From this premise, the priority is to defend our people, abide by their constants, pursue the intifada, support the resistance and enhance national unity.
Al-Zubaydi announced that the Al-Aqsa Brigades rejects Fatah’s participation in the forthcoming Palestinian government, explaining that this does not run counter to the concept of national unity for Fatah has been the safety valve of national unity and the one that has been embracing it over the years of Palestinian struggle.
He stressed that Fatah’s moving to the opposition ‘does not mean that it enters into conflict with the government, for political differences are legitimate.’
He added that the internal dialogue continues and Fatah will not be a stumbling block in the face of any Hamas-led government.
‘On the contrary, we will work hand in hand to serve our people, particularly at this serious and critical juncture that we must cross to safeguard the achievements, benefit from the sacrifices, pursue the resistance march and foil the plans of the occupation to undermine the domestic front.’
Al-Zubaydi condemned the Israeli assassinations, the latest being the assassination of Khalid al-Dahduh, commander of the Al-Quds Brigades in the Gaza Strip.
He said: ‘Through this operation, Israel targets all the resistance symbols and sends a message of threats to which we certainly reply that the march of the resistance will become bigger with the fall of the leaders and the martyrs, and our battle is not over for we still have many means with which to reply and carry out resistance.’
He added that the world must know that its silence, defeatist stand and bias in favour of Israel will not lead the region to any peace or stability.
Al-Zubaydi added: ‘The world must realise very well that Palestinian blood is not cheap and our people are not impotent.
‘We granted the calm and suffered from the blows of the occupation. But the world did not make any move and we do not expect the UN Security Council and an international community that is under the hegemony of the United States and the Zionist lobby to be fair to us.
‘We will defend our people, our options and our rights and there will be no peace without our constants, foremost of which is the termination of the occupation, the release of the prisoners, the return of the refugees and the establishment of our state.’
Al-Zubaydi ridiculed the threats to cut off aid to our people that have been made since Hamas won the elections.
He said: ‘If the price for maintaining this assistance is to humiliate and subdue our people then let this assistance go to hell.
‘The occupation resorted to closures, siege and the wall to force our people to kneel but our people stood fast, resisted and did not give up their rights.
‘This is why we say that it is important for the Arab and Islamic countries to perform their duty to our people and compensate them for this aid.
‘The forthcoming government, the Palestinian National Authority and all the forces, must prepare to confront these threats and seek substitutes, he concluded.
Meanwhile, the Water Authority has warned of the dangers of the current water crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Water Authority information adviser Hasan al-Sadri said this crisis could lead to an environmental and human disaster that would be difficult to control and that could seriously exacerbate the health of some 1.4 million people living in the Gaza Strip – all this due to the scarcity and poor quality of water.
Al-Sadri explained that the Gaza Strip is experiencing this crisis before the eyes and ears of the international community, which is ignoring the real reasons for this crisis and Israel’s responsibility for it as an occupying power.
The Prisoner Information Centre quoted Al-Sadri saying that this crisis is a big obstacle to agricultural, industrial, social and political development, if no satisfactory results are reached on Palestinian water rights.
Al-Sadri said that the coastal aquifer is the main source of water for the Gaza Strip’s various needs. The aquifer is replenished by about 50-60m cubic metres of excess rainfall every year, while 120-140m cubic metres are pumped from it. This greatly downgrades its capability and longevity.
Highlighting the magnitude of the problem, Al-Sadri said the water shortage is 68-90m cubic metres per year in the Gaza Strip, which has the highest population density in the world, namely: 3,800 people per two square kilometres. This ratio is expected to reach 6,000-8,000 people per two square kilometres by the year 2010.
Al-Sadri explained that the water situation in the Gaza Strip from the quantity and quality aspect is tragic, saying the water problem is not new but has increased and is exacerbated by the presence of the occupation and its practices.
He said that this situation has led to a huge drop in Palestinian per capita consumption of water to 50-70 litres per day (WHO [World Health Organisation] recommends a minimum of 100 litres) while the Israeli per capital consumption is 400 litres per day, and the Israeli settler gets double this quantity, that is 800 litres per day. In other words, the Israeli citizen consumes five times more than the Palestinian citizen.
It is worth recalling that a study conducted by a group of Palestinian hydrologists shows that the Israeli water company Mekorot has reduced water supply to 640 Palestinian communities and completely stopped it to other communities – which leave these communities depending on rainfall which they collect in water cisterns.
About the reasons for over-pumping from the aquifer, Al-Sadri said there are over 4,500 wells in the Gaza Strip mainly used for agricultural purposes. There are 2,700 licensed wells; the others are illegal and unlicensed. Over-pumping has lowered the water table level, causing seawater from the Mediterranean to seep into the coastal aquifer, thus increasing its salinity. Most of the water in some areas is now unfit for human or agricultural use.
Al-Sadri stressed the need to tackle the water shortage before it worsens by seriously studying the Palestinian water rights and restoring them, by searching for other renewable resources and by creating a sound and comprehensive infrastructure.
He said overcoming the water problem depends on earnest international cooperation and financing of the water projects needed and on upholding the principle of a just distribution of water between neighbouring countries, in accordance with international laws and norms. Al-Sadri added that the Water Authority has tried to ease this problem through water and sewerage projects undertaken in the Gaza Strip.
Seventeen new wells have been dug and 40 others have been maintained. In addition, a water station with a 10-km water pipeline has been built in the eastern region of the Gaza Strip.
He stressed that the Water Authority has developed a system to collect rainwater in Khan Younis. The Water Authority is planning to build two seawater desalination plants: one in the central region of the Gaza Strip and the other in the Bayt Lahiya region, in addition to projects to rehabilitate saline wells and collect rainwater in the northern region of the Gaza Strip.
