Video: How settler attacks and water diversion erased a Palestinian community
Video: How settler attacks and water diversion erased a Palestinian community Haitham Rashaidh was among the last to leave his home near Ein al-Auja, a natural spring and waterfall north of Jericho in the occupied West Bank. His family packed up their tents and heaped all their belongings onto a tractor, and then began the two-hour journey across difficult terrain towards al-Balqa, a sparsely…
Haitham Rashaidh was among the final residents to depart his home near Ein al-Auja, a natural spring and waterfall located north of Jericho in the occupied West Bank. His family loaded up their tents and possessions onto a tractor, and commenced a two-hour journey through challenging terrain towards al-Balqa, a sparsely populated region of the Jordan Valley, where they established a camp alongside displaced neighbors.
Saying goodbye to Ein al-Auja, Rashaidh lamented, was like losing a significant part of their identity. The spring, once teeming with water flowing at a rate estimated at thousands of cubic meters daily, is now dry, and the once thriving Bedouin community of over 100 families has been reduced to a mere trickle. The community once cherished Ein al-Auja as a serene oasis in a region under constant threat.
However, the combination of Israel's diversion of water, coupled with ongoing settler attacks, rendered life in the community unsustainable.
Written by urgent.news from Middle East Eye's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
