Sem terra e sem água: assentamentos israelenses e o controle sobre a água como ameaças à existência do povo palestino

Abstract

The present study proposes to analyze the impacts of the colonial policy of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) in relation to access to water, by understanding its consequences on the maintenance of life and autonomy in Palestine. Following a qualitative analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian case study, the development chapters are divided into three parts, initially addressing the theoretical principles of postcolonial studies, and applying them to the historical background of the conflict. This was delimited from the events that resulted in the Partition Plan, in 1948, until the Six Day War, passing through the Oslo Accords and the period that followed it. In this scenario, we observed a progressive growth of domination over Palestine, through settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, revealing a colonial ethic inherent to the Jewish state, characterized by violent and ethnocentric invasions and occupations of foreign territories. Then, the issue of water was addressed as applied to the conflict, analyzing the relationship between the policies of exploitation of this resource and the main natural water sources in the region, these being the Jordan River, the Sea of Galilee, and the Mountain and Coastal Aquifers. Thus, as a consequence of Israel's hydro political measures, it was possible to observe unequal levels of distribution, which directly affect the amount of water consumed daily in all of Palestine, reaching a level below the recommended by the World Health Organization. In addition, the third chapter of the development focused on examining the effects of water scarcity on the quality of life of the Palestinian population, including a general analysis of the sanitation structure and the process of wastewater reuse in domestic and agricultural environments. Furthermore, in face of the asymmetry of power regarding the implementation of water policies between Israel and Palestine, it was possible to infer that the existence of this system represents a threat to Palestinian autonomy, as a result of the overall increased dependence on Israeli policies.