Water supply restored to W. Bank residents after 48 hour shortage
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
Mekorot Water Company workers repaired a faulty water pipeline Wednesday that
has failed to supply water for the past 48 hours to tens of thousands of
residents of settlements and Palestinian villages in the Dolev-Talmonim and
Nili Na'aleh areas in the West Bank.
Escorted by security, the Mekorot workers repaired the Kiryat
Sefer-Herevta-Dolev water pipeline and restored the water supply to the homes
of some ten thousand settlers and tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The emergency reservoir planned for Talmon has yet to be built, due to Defense
Minister Amir Peretz's refusal to authorize the project.
Peretz contends that the emergency reservoir is slated to be built in an area
for which an urban construction plan has not been officially filed, and
therefore the area is essentially being developed without a permit. Peretz is
also refusing to authorize a "pinpoint" construction plan that would give
permission to build the reservoir, as is accepted procedure in such cases.
In recent months, there have been several water stoppages in the area, which in
recent years has seen significant population growth, primarily among the
Palestinians.
The Binyamin Regional Council distributed water tanks Tuesday to the affected
settlements.