A/HRC/23/21 Sea. (d) Installing solar networks for heat and electricity; (e) Improving sewage treatment to avoid further pollution of the Mediterranean 19. The mission also met with members of the WASH Cluster, 9 who stressed the urgent need for supporting self-sufficiency and enhanced water quality. Scarcity and supply issues had been reportedly aggravated by Israel when it cut Gaza off from West Bank aquifers, an act that apparently violated the arrangements concerning the allocation of water in the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Oslo II agreements). Israel is implementing an approach that treats Gaza as an entirely independent entity, while from a Palestinian perspective it would be preferable to treat the West Bank and Gaza as one, especially in water policy. Israel currently diverts 92 per cent of aquifers for its own use, thus depriving Gaza of the most efficient way to satisfy its water needs. The practical option for Gaza is a major investment in desalination capabilities, although suspicions were expressed that Israel was seeking to sell its desalination technology to Gaza. Without desalination and water purification initiatives, the public health hazard of contaminated water is likely to prove catastrophic for Gaza. It was alleged that Israel allows Gaza to invest in its own programme of infrastructural improvements, and then bombs the improvements made. The extent of Israel’s responsibilities as occupying Power with regard to such matters as water and electricity, which are essential aspects of protecting the civilian population, is paramount. It was recommended that desalination and sewage facilities should be regarded as improper targets in the event of Israeli attacks. It was claimed that past targeting of such facilities had discouraged foreign donors from reinvesting, and that difficulties encountered in importing spare parts posed an obstacle to maintenance works. Emphasis was put on the need for more electricity to pump water, enabling more efficient use of Gaza’s food-producing potential. There were also reports of water wastage owing to faulty treatment facilities, increased salinity in ground water and administrative problems with foreign funding because of the split in control between, on the one hand, formal recognition by Israel of the Palestinian Authority as still controlling Gaza, and on the other, the de facto status of the authorities. 20. Fundamental to the viability of Gaza is the question of food security The Gaza Strip is 321 square miles, and the latest population estimate is 1.75 million residents, making it one of the most densely populated and impoverished territories in the world. These underlying conditions have been aggravated by Israel’s maintenance of a security buffer zone on the Gaza side of the border that deprives Palestinian farmers of 34 per cent of available agricultural land. Periodic Israeli incursions have destroyed wells and farm animals, and have made it hazardous to work the land. Operation “Pillar of Defense” inflicted considerable damage on agricultural structures and animal shelters throughout Gaza. The Special Rapporteur was informed that agriculture seemed to have been particularly targeted. To have any hope of achieving long-term viability, the agricultural sector depends on an end to the blockade; improved access to seeds; better irrigation; secure access to the land; a reduced and demarcated buffer zone; and the renewal of exports of key products in viable quantities. Long-term projections that assume continued population growth and improving living conditions, including less dependence on international donors, are uniformly pessimistic about the future of Gaza, especially if it continues to be cut off from the West Bank and the outside world. 9 10 See www.washcluster.info/.