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Follow Us on TwitterMichael Shaik (VIC) responds to Jamie Hyams’ letter “Taking on water” The Age 30Oct09 PUBLISHED October 29, 2009
The Age (Letters 29/10) “Taking on Water” by Jamie Hyams
Jamie Hyams is being disingenuous when he blames Palestinians for “failing to build sewerage treatment plants that would make water available for agriculture and for which they have received funding.”
According to a report by the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem released this June, Israel has deliberately obstructed the construction of such plants by delaying their approval “in some cases for more than a decade”, insisting that they treat wastewater from Israeli settlements and imposing on them much higher standards than those imposed on Israeli wastewater treatment plants. As a result of such obstructions, the report notes, donor countries “have reduced their planned funding for these projects.”
It is interesting to note that, rather than acknowledging the broad consensus of reports by international, Israeli and Palestinian NGOs regarding Israel’s violations of Palestinians human rights, Israel’s apologists choose to attack the NGOs themselves. Does Hyams really believe that all of these human rights organisations are indeed a part of a global conspiracy to “condemn Israel” or does he believe that human rights should not apply to Palestinians?
Thank You.
