Climate change will negatively impact life in the Gaza Strip: environmental expert

A Gaza-based Palestinian environmental expert warned of a significant water crisis from climate change and its negative impact on human health and the environment in the Gaza Strip as Israeli violations continue on the territory.

Speaking to The New Arab, Yasser Nassar, an environmental expert, said, "One of the most important effects resulting from climate change is the increase in floods in the Gaza Strip, as happened during the Alexa storm, which hit the Strip in 2013, and flood waters inundated entire areas in the Strip, isolating its residents from the rest of the Strip and the world."

He pointed out that half of the Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are increasingly losing their water source after the wells dried up over the last 20 years. He stressed that the water situation in the Gaza Strip was worse than in the occupied West Bank.

A recent report by the World Bank confirms that the Strip has been experiencing a water crisis since 2005, while the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) indicates that 10% of the population has access to clean water.

The report considered that half of the population of the Gaza Strip needs real and severe interventions in the water and sanitation sectors, stressing that the citizen's right to access clean, safe, and potable water should not be used as a punitive tool.

Nassar accused the Israeli occupation and the responsible siege policy of being primarily responsible for the water, sanitation, human health, and environment crises.

As a result, Nassar explains, 75% of the sea beaches in the Strip are polluted, 12.4% of the water wells are contaminated with nitrates, and 65% of the water of desalination plants for the private sector is polluted with bacteria colonies.

Nassar noted that a third of the family's income in the Strip is spent on water and sanitation. At the same time, the United Nations General Assembly stresses that this should not exceed 3% of the revenue.

He called on local authorities and universities to conduct national studies to develop general plans for adapting to climate change, including the Gaza Strip, as climate change is a global phenomenon. Still, its effects fall directly on local communities.