Bill Van Esveld, associate director of Human Rights Watch, reported on Israel’s systemic destruction of Gaza’s water system on a recent episode of the “Democracy Now” podcast.

Israelis and people of the U.S. get a recommended minimum of 247 liters of water a day. People in Gaza get 2 to 7 liters per day. The report concludes that this deprivation is intentional on the part of Netanyahu and Israeli forces and details how Israel bulldozes solar panels on Gaza’s desalinization plants. It bombs and destroys buildings holding the spare parts for the water system, using U.S. taxpayer-provided bombs. Untold suffering of women and children through dehydration and related illnesses result in death for thousands of people.

Former Defense Minister Gallant, an indicted war criminal, has called the people of Gaza “human animals.” He recently met with Defense Secretary Austin in Washington, where he was treated as a foreign dignitary despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant accusing him of war crimes.

The United States government provides billions of dollars for weapons to Israel. It is unbelievable that human beings are denied adequate water for survival. It is more unbelievable that the U.S. government allows and subsidizes such acts. The report says that the amount of water used in a typical shower is more than Gazans get in a week. How can this be tolerated by U.S. elected officials who have the power to stop it?

Ed Ferreira
New Sharon