Amira Hass Palestinian city parched after Israel cuts water supply
Palestinian city parched after Israel cuts water supply Chickens and gardens in Salfit die of dehydration, and factories are shut down in an effort to conserve water; 'We woke up one morning to an empty reservoir.' haaretz.com I can fast. My chickens and plants can’t. I can go without drinking water for 18 hours during Ramadan. I understand. But my plants and chickens, what do they know? What can I tell them – to make do, because Mekorot [the Israeli water company] is reducing the amount of water, and specifically now during the summer and Ramadan?” says Nizar Rayan, a resident of Qarawat Bani Hassan in the Salfit District. Rayan has an impressive plant nursery in front of his house and a large chicken coop down the road. At the beginning of June, when it became clear that the cuts in the water supply to the towns and villages in the central West Bank district were not temporary, he rushed out and sold almost all of his 700 chickens. He thought he w