Israel destroys US-built wells
By Justin Huggler in Jerusalem
05 November 2003
The US has reportedly complained after the Israeli army destroyed wells built for civilians in Gaza by an American government aid agency.
Huge areas have been demolished by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks, including more than 150 homes.
The wells had just been dug by the United States Agency for International Development (USAid). A few months ago the agency announced a $20m (Ł12m) project to rebuild infrastructure including roads, electricity supply lines and sewers in the occupied territories.
The agency was reporting good progress. But its workers were dismayed when they turned up to finish the wells and found that their work had been destroyed. A source at the American embassy said that when USAid complained, the Israelis told them that they demolished the wells because Palestinian militants had been hiding in them.
That has been a regular claim from the Israeli military to justify demolishing houses in Gaza - but in recent weeks whole streets have been knocked down. Israel has also been accused of trying to move refugee camps away from the border with Egypt.
Spokesmen at the American embassy were careful not to criticise the Israeli army. But according to reports in the Israeli press yesterday, they were less diplomatic behind the scenes. The newspaper Ma'ariv reported that the US had threatened to stop all reconstruction work unless the Israeli army promised not to demolish anything built by the Americans.
Paul Patin, a spokesman for the embassy, denied that. He said: "We don't have any plans to leave." But the Israeli authorities are reportedly dismayed at the incident. Ma'ariv quoted unnamed political sources as calling it a "failure". Someone identified as a "high-ranking political official" said: "The Palestinian population is not Israel's enemy."
Although Gaza is on the coast, the overpopulated strip suffers severe shortages of clean water, and many drink salt water. Wells are of vital importance. The Israeli army's blunder came after the US State Department said that it would ask Congress to approve $2.2bn of military aid for Israel in 2005, $60m more than the allocation for 2004.
The increase is part of an agreement made in the 1990s to reduce economic assistance to Israel by $120m a year and simultaneously increase military aid by $60m a year.
But the US has since agreed an extra $9bn of loan guarantees over three years to bail out the Israeli economy, in serious trouble after three years of the intifada.
The costly military response, led by the Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, has severely damaged tourism and investment in Israel.
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