Summary: The on-going blockade on Gaza Strip has affected the most vulnerable residents of the 41 km long enclave of Gaza. These people are lacking urgently needed access to water and sanitation. The majority of the population in Gaza has no alternative but to purchase water for drinking and cooking from private vendors because of the unsafe quality of the tap water (UNDP, 2012).
Introduction
The current socio-political conditions in Palestine have played a key role in the contamination of the Palestinian environment and in the severe deterioration of its natural resources. These serious problems occurred as a result of about 40 years of Israeli occupation, continuous invasions to Palestinian territories, and the long term isolation caused by the regional political circumstances, limited land resources due to land confiscation, alarming population growth, and the exploitation of the natural resources within the districts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
( ARIJ,2011 )
In the Gaza Strip, the environment is deprived of development and this crucial situation has been exacerbated by the Cast Lead Israeli military operation on December 2008-January 2009 as well as the continuation of about five years of closure and comprehensive blockade imposed by Israel since June 2007. Moreover, several factors such as the underdeveloped environmental protection system, the absence of funding, and weak capacity and infrastructure have hampered any meaningful reconstruction and other interventions needed to protect the environment from further deterioration. Accordingly, significant investments are thus required to reestablish basic environmental sectors including water, wastewater, solid waste, housing, health, and education.