Last update - 00:00 27/12/2006
Residents of West Bank go without water for 48 hours
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
Tens of thousands of residents of settlements and Palestinian villages in the Gush Dolev-Talmonim and Nili Na'aleh areas in the West Bank, have gone without water for the past 48 hours, due to a malfunction in the Kiryat Sefer-Herevta-Dolev water pipeline.
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.