General Union of Palestinian Women

The National Strategy for the Advancement of Palestinian Women

Women and The Environment

Existing Problems:

Ever since Israel occupied Palestinian lands in 1948 and 1967 it has been willfully depriving the Palestinian people of their sovereignty over their land and their natural and water resources. Furthermore, Israel's settlements and settlement activities, seizure of land, depletion of water resources and felling of productive trees have led to the destruction of the environment.
Israel's exploitation of Palestinian land and natural resources caused the Palestinians to suffer from the depletion of land and water as well as from polluted agricultural land and a destroyed infrastructure.
In addition, current infrastructure services - fresh water and sewage networks - cannot cope with the concentrated and constantly growing population of refugee camps.

Objectives:

1. To enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right of sovereignty over their land, water, natural resources and shores in order to set strategies and plans for the preservation and development of the environment.
2. To dismantle settlements and put an end to settlement activities, land expropriation, water depletion and diversion and felling of trees, which all pose as major obstacles that hinder Palestinian efforts towards attaining a comprehensive development.
3. To obligate Israel to adhere to international conventions and resolutions regarding the preservation of Palestinian Arab environment surrounding the Israeli settlements until a permanent settlement is reached through the final phase of negotiations
between the PLO and Israel.
4. To ensure Israel's solemn obligations to international agreements that prohibit the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to place Israel's nuclear reactors under international surveillance.
5. To improve the housing infrastructure in Palestine in regard to fresh water and sewage services.
6. To ensure the continuation of UNRWA services for Palestinian refugees living in camps.
7. To include women in setting and implementing policies regarding the environment.

Procedures:

1. To organize local, Arab and international campaigns towards:
a) dismantling Israel's settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories
b) implementing international legal resolutions concerning the Palestinian people including their right to self-determination sovereignty over the land and natural wealth
and establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.
2. To work with Arab and international governmental and non governmental organizations to obligate Israel to place nuclear reactors under international
surveillance.
3. To attain financial support from donor and friendly countries to develop the infrastructure which was destroyed by the occupation.
4. To put pressure towards the continuation of UNRWA's full health, education and relief services for Palestinian refugees.
5. To utilize environmental programs to train and prepare women in their capacity as producers and consumers, to take effective environmental procedures and initiatives
concerning their homes, places of work and their communities .
6. To work towards incorporating special courses on environmental awareness and preservation within all educational programs.
7. To establish specialized centers on environmental awareness and to spread information on the preservation of the environment.