The struggle for water access in this strip of fertile land reflects a wider contest for control of the West Bank — and in particular the Jordan Valley, which Palestinians consider the breadbasket of their hoped-for future state and Israelis view as key to protecting their eastern border.
“People are thirsty, the crops are thirsty,” said Hazeh Daraghmeh, a 63-year-old Palestinian date farmer in the Jiftlik area of the valley, where some of his palms have withered in the bone-dry dirt. “They’re trying to squeeze us step by step,” Daraghmeh said.
I don’t agree with any of the religious drivers in the scenario, and I definitely don’t agree with targeting children at all, but this is also retaliation for having their land and homes stolen and decimated for decades. You can’t paint an animal into a corner and not expect it to bite you. We’re talking about an army backed by the country with the biggest military budget in the world, vs people that don’t even have a roof over their heads or crops because the aforementioned army has forcefully taken them away. The only outcome of that kind of scenario is going to be desperation and violence.
So if they’re considered the only terrorists in this scenario, they were forced into that role. These 2 sides could simply share the land like sane people, but religion has yet again become the wedge.