Eng/Arabic/Nat
The issue of water rights in Israel went to the top of the political agenda in the country's troubled West Bank on Sunday.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin ordered Israeli army trucks to begin began distributing water to Palestinians in the West Bank town of Hebron amid accusations that Jewish settlers were getting more than their share.
The Prime Minister's order came following reports of a severe water crisis in the already tense city of Hebron.
Palestinian residents have long complained of unfair water distribution.
And government trucks began to bring in fresh supplies in an effort to cool hot tempers.
For most Palestinians, the seemingly simple task of collecting water is an ordeal.
They are often forced to buy drinking water at high prices from water trucks such as this or queue at the local tap.
The mayor of Hebron claims that his city doesn't receive enough water.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"We receive daily about five-thousand cubic metres which represent 20 percent of our needs"
SUPER CAPTION: Mustapha Natche - mayor of Hebron
In this hot and arid land, the supply of water has become a major political issue.
Palestinians claim that Jewish settlers in nearby Kiryat Arba have an almost unlimited supply of water - meanwhile they have to deal with dry pipes.
The tug of war over the Middle East's most precious resource is one of the most difficult issues left to be agreed upon in the PLO-Israeli talks on expanding Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank.
Israel gets a third of its water from the West Bank, which it captured from Jordan in 1967, and insists on keeping control over springs there even after Palestinian autonomy begins.
The Palestinians want the water sources to be handed over to them.
This problem is not unique to Hebron area and is common in most of the West Bank Arab villages.
SOUNDBITE: (Arabic)
"I'm here to fill up some water, because the water is cut off most of the time."
SUPER CAPTION: Fatima, Bethlehem resident.
Israel blames the situation on mismanagement by local Palestinian authorities.
But while both sides blame the other, only one thing is certain - many of the residents of Hebron will continue to remain thirsty this summer.
