More evidence that the ‘Palestinian cause’ is immoral

Every day, it becomes easier to demonstrate that the ‘Palestinian cause’ is immoral. Every day, we see how this supposedly moral cause is built upon lies.

Moral people do not lie. Moral causes do not lie.  

Yesterday, headlines told us that European Union  Parliamentary President Martin Schulz has been in Israel. He spoke yesterday (in German) to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. He criticized Israel. He said Israel uses water allocation to discriminate against Arabs in Judea-Samaria.  

He repeated as fact the ‘Palestinian’ claim that Arabs in Judea-Samaria receive only 17 liters of water per day when Israelis receive 70 liters of water per day (“MKs Walk out of EU Head's Anti-Israel Speech,” Arutz Sheva, February 12, 2014).

His criticism sparked outrage. At least one MK heckled Schulz immediately. Bayit Yehudi head—and Economics Minister--Naftali Bennet signalled his Party’s Members to walk out of the Knesset chamber. They did so. Afterwards, other MKs spoke aloud to the press of their outrage at Schulz’s criticism, even as they remained in chamber for the rest of Schulz’s speech.

Many called this particular criticism (17 liters of water for Arabs vs 70 liters for Jews) an outright lie. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that it appeared that the President of the European Parliament, upon visiting Ramallah (‘Palestinian’ headquarters), had heard the bogus water claim and, without bothering to check for accuracy, repeated it to Israel’s Knesset.

This claim of water discrimination is not new. It has been around for years. It is part of demonize-Israel ideology. It is a lie that the UN has repeated often. So has the US, the EU, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and several anti-Israel NGOs. It’s a lie used to show how Israel oppresses the victimized, innocent Arab: in this harsh desert land, Israel allocates to the Arab only one-quarter the water it allocates to Jews.

In a hot climate, that’s not just brutal or discriminating allocation. It’s brutal discrimination.

The truth, however, tells a different story. Arabs receive between 24-46 million cubic meters (MCM) a year more water than Israel is required to provide under terms agreed to in the Oslo Accords (“The Facts About the Palestinian Arab Water Supply”, Mark Langfan, Arutz Sheva, February 13, 2014). The fact is that—according to the Israel Water Authority—the average Arab resident receives 165 liters of water a day—not the 17 liters claimed (“Even Palestinian Authority Stats Show Schulz Wrong”, Arutz Sheva, February 13, 2014).

Now, thanks to so some investigative reporting at the Israeli newspaper Maariv (ibid), the Palestinian Authority (PA) itself—which told Schulz the 17 liter-per-day lie—has its own view of average daily Arab water consumption. Using its own data sources and methodology (which are different from how Israel collects and uses data), the PA’s own Water Authority reports that (in 2011) daily Arab water consumption stood at 103 liters-per-day (not 17).

To understand what 103 liters-per-day means, go to an unflattering story about Israel on ALMonitor.com  (“Israel Denies Palestinians Equal Water Access”, April 8, 2013). There, you’ll read that the World Health Organization (WHO) “recommends 100 liters of water per capita per day as the minimum quantity for basic consumption.”

The PA Water Authority says that its Arabs receive 103 liters per-day-per-person. That means that Israel’s water-allocation process meets WHO standards. If WHO standards are met, then Israel’s water allocation to Arabs does not meet the definition of ‘discrimination’. To discriminate, Israel would have to keep Arab water availability below WHO standards so as to coerce, oppress and control.

This afternoon, Yuval Steinitz, who is Israel’s Minister of Intelligence, International Relations and Strategic Affairs, said  that Arab water consumption in Israel and the PA is similar to  Arab water consumption in other Arab countries (“PA Water Consumption the Same as the Rest of Arab World”, Arutz Sheva, February 13, 2014).. He added that differences in water consumption between Israelis and Palestinian Authority (PA) residents could not be compared because of differences in standards of living. He might have added that life-style and data collection issues could also account for reported consumption differences—not discrimination.  

The Arab 103 liter-per-day-per-person meets WHO health standards for acceptability. Meeting WHO water standards is discrimination?

Israel exceeds Oslo water requirements. Exceeding Oslo requirements is discrimination?  

Israel exceeds Oslo requirements. Israel meets WHO standards. That’s discrimination?

The PA lies. It lies to present Israel as brutal.  It lies to ‘prove’ that Israel discriminates against Arab by allocating only 17 liters of water per-day-per-Arab citizen.

The Arab cause is built upon lies. It’s an immoral house of cards. It will collapse.