Occupied Palestine, ALRAY - The Israeli occupation controls more than 85 per cent of Palestinian water resources, causing acute shortages in drinkable water in the occupied Palestinian territories, a worrying official Palestinian report has found.

In a joint report issued on World Water Day, which is marked on 22 March, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA) said that the average Palestinian consumes less than the minimum global recommendation of water consumption, as a result of the Israeli policies and control over their water resources.

According to the report, the average Palestinian consumes 86.3 litres of water per day.

This rate has reached 89 litres per day in the occupied West Bank, while in the besieged Gaza Strip the per capita share has reached 82.7 litres.

Given the high water pollution rates and the amount of drinkable water fit for human consumption, the per capita share of potable water for the average Palestinian has dropped to 21.3 litres per day.

The report explained that an average colonial Israeli settler consumes more than three times higher than an average Palestinian.

It pointed out that a colonial Israeli settler consumes 300 litres per day on average.

Due to the Israeli occupation's control over the waters of the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, the Palestinian people cannot use their surface water resources, the report concluded.